Idiom dictionary - Definition and Overview

An idiom dictionary explains idiosyncratic stock phrases and metaphors in language. Typical English idiom dictionaries, e.g. that published by Longmans, define about 4000 phrases, e.g. "buy the farm", "hit the road", "canary in a coal mine". Of these, a tiny subset, generally involving prepositions or action verbs, are very basic to the language, and are closely related to fundamental conceptual metaphors. These include forms like out of or turn into.

Idiom dictionaries, as well as dictionaries in general, may or may not rely on a defining vocabulary of terms (Longman's uses 2000) which are used only in their simplest senses, to minimize the number of such basic conceptual metaphors and polymorphic word uses, and make definitions easier for someone unfamiliar with the language to comprehend, such as children or students of English as an additional language.

See also

• defining vocabulary
• Wiktionary list of idioms
• stock phrase

External link

• An Internet Idiom Dictionary (http://idiomsite.com)