Expression

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪkˈspɹɛʃ.É™n/
• Rhymes: -ɛʃən
• Hyphenation: ex + pres + sion

Origin

From Middle French, from Late Latin expressiō ("a pressing out").

Full definition of expression

Noun

1. A particular way of phrasing an idea.
2. A colloquialism or idiom.
   The expression "break a leg!" should not be taken literally.
3. A facial appearance usually associated with an emotion.
• 1963, Margery Allingham, The China Governess Chapter 9, Eustace gaped at him in amazement. When his urbanity dropped away from him, as now, he had an innocence of expression which was almost infantile. It was as if the world had never touched him at all.
4. They stared at the newcomer with a puzzled expression.
   The best poker players can tell if the opponents have a good hand by looking at their expression.
   Her expression changed from joy to misery after realising her winning lottery ticket had expired.
5. (mathematics) An arrangement of symbols denoting values, operations performed on them, and grouping symbols.
6. (biology) The process of translating a gene into a protein.
7. (programming) A piece of code in a high-level language that returns a value.
8. Of a mother, the process of expressing milk.

Derived terms

• arithmetic expression
• linguistic expression
• logical expression
• regular expression
• expression pedal

Related terms

• express
• expressive
• expressionless
• expressionism
• expressible