expression

Meanings

1. A look on someone's face that shows what they feel.
2. The act of showing a thought or feeling in words, art or action.
3. A word or phrase used in a particular way.

Example sentences

• "She had a happy expression on her face."

  Level A2, Meaning 1

• "Freedom of expression is a basic right."

  Level B1, Meaning 2

• "Break a leg is an expression that means good luck."

  Level B1, Meaning 3

• "His expression changed when he heard the news."

  Level A2, Meaning 1

Look-alikes and common mistakes

• impression : An impression is the idea or feeling you get about something. An expression is how you show a feeling.
• expressive : Expressive describes something that shows feeling clearly. Expression is the noun.

Word family and forms

Forms: expressions

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "expression".

• facial expression
• freedom of expression
• beyond expression
• a common expression
• an expression of thanks
• artistic expression

Origin

Expression comes from Latin expressio, which means a pressing out, and it reached English in the 1400s. The idea is of a feeling or a thought being pressed out into the open, onto the face or into words.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Dictionary.com.

How to remember it

Expression has press in the middle: a feeling pressed out, from inside to the surface of your face or your words.

Test yourself

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