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catchphrase

nounB2+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #11,123 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: catchphrases

A catchphrase is a line a character or a performer says so often that it becomes famous on its own. A comedian's catchphrase, the show's catchphrase, everybody knew the catchphrase.

It belongs to television, comedy and advertising, and the test is repetition: a memorable line said once is a quotation, and a line said every week is a catchphrase. Politicians have them too, though there they are usually called slogans, which are written on purpose rather than caught. Note that a catchphrase can outlive the programme it came from by decades, which is exactly what makes it worth having.

Definitions of catchphrase

  1. 1nouncatchphraseA line repeated so often by a character or performer that it becomes well known.B2+

    “The catchphrase outlasted the series by twenty years.”

    synonyms: slogan, tagline

catchphrase is a repeated phrase.

Where it comes from

From catch + phrase, from the notion that the phrase will catch in the mind of the user.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Music, Art & Culture, News & Communication

Practise this word

catchphrase in the wild

  • A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance.

    Catchphrase

  • Later incarnations gave the character more agency, but the core aspects of the character have persisted throughout the series, including her catchphrase "Jeepers!".

    Daphne Blake

  • In the style of this catchphrase, technological evolution can be used to describe the origin of new technologies.

    Technological evolution

  • When Bart says "I didn't do it," he instantly becomes famous for his catchphrase.

    Bart Gets Famous

  • Many characters from the show have catchphrases, and the episode mocks the use of catchphrase-based humor.

    Bart Gets Famous

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.