phrase1/frez; freIz/n [C] 1 a group of words that together have a particular meaning 成语﹐习语﹔警句: Darwin's famous phrase ‘the survival of the fittest’ 达尔文的名言“适者生存”THESAURUS 同类词expression/idiom – a group of words that have a different meaning from the usual meaning of the separate words 词组/习语cliché – a phrase that has been repeated so often that it is not interesting 陈词滥调saying/proverb – a well-known phrase that people use to give advice 谚语﹐格言2 technical a group of words without a main verb, used to form part of a sentence, for example ‘a piece of bread’【术语】短语〔如 a piece of bread〕
phrase2v [T] to express something in a particular way 以某种方式表达﹐以…措词表达: Ben tried to think how to phrase his next question. 本设法想出怎么来提下一个问题。