› an informal word or expression that is more suitable for use in speech than in writing
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Examples from literature
- A colloquialism in very frequent use.
- Bill mixed slang, the colloquialisms of the frontier, and the terminology of modern scientific thought with quaint impartiality.
- Examine the vocabulary for naturalness, colloquialism, and extraordinary occasional fitness of words.
- It has passed out of the stage of mere slang to become a "colloquialism."
- This is a colloquialism that should be avoided.
