Definition of "mantra" []

• Hinduism A sacred verbal formula repeated in prayer, meditation, or incantation, such as an invocation of a god, a magic spell, or a syllable or portion of scripture containing mystical potentialities. (noun)
• A commonly repeated word or phrase: "Today's edutainment software comes shrinkwrapped in the magic mantra: 'makes learning fun.'” ( Clifford Stoll). (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.

• "The word mantra is a Sanskrit word derived from “man” (mind) and “tra” (deliverance)."
• "The "free-market" mantra is code for grab all you can, don't worry about the government getting in the way of throwing out the unions, preventing the spewing and dumping of pollution, cutting costs on safe products and a safe workplace, or preventing the most avaricious from gaining a monopoly and dictating prices."
• "The term mantra meant first, a thought; then thought expressed; then a Vedic hymn or text; next a spell or charm."