Definition of “expression” - English Dictionary

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“expression” in English

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expressionnoun

uk ​ /ɪkˈspreʃ.ən/ us ​ /ɪkˈspreʃ.ən/

expression noun (SHOWING)

B2 [ C or U ] the act of saying what you think or showing how you feel using words or actions:

He wrote her a poem as an expression of his love.
We've received a lot of expressions of support for our campaign.
Freedom of expression is a basic human right.
It's better to give expression to (= show) your anger, rather than hiding it.
formal His sadness at the death of his wife found expression (= was shown) in his music.
She plays the violin with great expression (= feeling).

B2 [ C ] the look on someone's face, showing what they feel or think:

I could tell from her expression that something serious had happened.
Mark always has such a miserable expression on his face.

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(Definition of “expression” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

“expression” in American English

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expressionnoun

us ​ /ɪkˈspreʃ·ən/

› [ C ] a word or group of words having a particular meaning or used in a particular way:

That was an expression he hadn’t heard before, and wondered what it meant.

› mathematics [ C ] An expression is also a mathematical statement that includes numbers, symbols, or both.

expression noun (SHOW)

› [ C/U ] the act of showing a feeling or idea, or a feeling or idea that is shown:

[ C ] She had such a sad expression on her face that I wondered what was wrong.
[ U ] Freedom of expression is a cherished right in democracies.

(Definition of “expression” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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