Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "expression" []

  • The act of expressing, conveying, or representing in words, art, music, or movement; a manifestation: an expression of rural values. (noun)
  • Something that expresses or communicates: Let this plaque serve as an expression of our esteem. (noun)
  • Mathematics A symbol or combination of symbols that represents a quantity or a relationship between quantities. (noun)
  • The manner in which one expresses oneself, especially in speaking, depicting, or performing. (noun)
  • A particular word or phrase: "an old Yankee expression . . . 'Stand up and be counted'” ( Charles Kuralt). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "expression" in a sentence
  • "In Leibniz's definition (the expression of the many in the one) the two key terms are ˜expression™ and ˜one™."
  • "His expression was very serious, and for a couple of disconcerting seconds Sophie remembered averydifferent expression… in the throes of his passion, when he had made her rejoice in her womanhood and gasp for joy as his hands touched her everywhere…"
  • "_He regards her with a rather amused, indulgent, almost paternal expression, in contrast to his big, bluff, physical personality, with his iron-gray hair and his bulldog expression_."