phraseGrammatical phrases are groups of two or more words that work together to perform a single grammatical function in a sentence. Unlike clauses, phrases do not contain both a subject and a predicate (although they sometimes function as one or the other).Continue reading…phrase (fr?z)n.1. A sequence of words that have meaning, especially when forming part of a sentence.2. a. A characteristic way or mode of expression: an apt turn of phrase.b. A brief, apt, and cogent expression: the phrase “out of the frying pan and into the fire.”3. Music A short passage or segment, often consisting of four measures or forming part of a larger unit.4. A series of dance movements forming a unit in a choreographic pattern.v. phrased, phras·ing, phras·es v.tr.1. To express orally or in writing: The speaker phrased several opinions.2. Music a. To divide (a passage) into phrases.b. To combine (notes) in a phrase.v.intr.1. To make or express phrases.2. Music To perform a passage with the correct phrasing.[Latin phrasis, diction, from Greek, speech, diction, phrase, from phrazein, to point out, show; see gwhren- in Indo-European roots.]phras?al adj.phras?al·ly adv.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.phrase (fre?z) n1. (Grammar) a group of words forming an immediate syntactic constituent of a clause. Compare clause1, noun phrase, verb phrase2. a particular expression, esp an original one3. (Classical Music) music a small group of notes forming a coherent unit of melody4. (Dancing) (in choreography) a short sequence of dance movementsvb (tr) 5. (Classical Music) music to divide (a melodic line, part, etc) into musical phrases, esp in performance6. to express orally or in a phrase[C16: from Latin phrasis, from Greek: speech, from phrazein to declare, tell]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014phrase (fre?z) n., v. phrased, phras?ing. n. 1. a sequence of two or more words arranged in a grammatical unit and lacking a finite verb or such elements of clause structure as subject and verb, as a preposition and a noun or pronoun, an adjective and noun, or an adverb and verb, esp. such a construction acting as a unit in a sentence. 2. a characteristic, current, or proverbial expression. 3. a way of speaking, mode of expression, or phraseology. 4. a brief utterance or remark. 5. a division of a musical composition, commonly a passage of four or eight measures, forming part of a period. 6. a sequence of dance motions making up part of a choreographic pattern. v.t. 7. to express or word in a particular way. 8. to express in words. 9. a. to mark off or bring out the phrases of (a piece of music), esp. in execution. b. to group (notes) into a phrase. v.i. 10. to perform a musical passage or piece with proper phrasing. [1520?30; (n.) back formation from phrases, pl. of earlier phrasis