DictionaryAI

expression

noun
ik-SPRESH-uhn/ɪkˈspɹɛʃ.n̩/

Pluralexpressions

10 meanings of expression

Practice

  1. 1
    nouncountable or uncountable
    The act of putting thoughts, ideas, or feelings into words, actions, or art.

    The novel is a profound expression of grief and loss.

    Free expression of opinion lies at the heart of any democracy.

    UsageCommon patterns: an expression of grief or thanks, freedom of expression, give expression to a feeling.

    Similarstatement, articulation, communication

    Oppositesuppression, repression

  2. 2
    look on facenouncountable
    The look on a person's face, usually linked to a particular emotion.

    A puzzled expression crossed his face as he read the letter.

    She studied their expressions, trying to guess what they were thinking.

    UsageUsually the expression on someone's face. In of expression it means a lasting look: innocence of expression.

    Similarlook, face, countenance

    Note

    Faces carry both a single look and a general quality. A puzzled expression is countable: one look at one moment, which can change from joy to misery. In Margery Allingham's The China Governess, a man has "an innocence of expression which was almost infantile": here the word is uncountable, naming the kind of look a face has rather than counting looks.

  3. 3
    way of sayingnouncountable or uncountable
    A particular way of phrasing an idea in words.

    Instead of saying the company was failing, the report used the gentler expression "facing serious challenges."

    The translator struggled to find an exact English expression for the French idea.

    Similarphrasing, wording, language, diction, phrase

  4. 4
    nouncountable
    A common saying or idiom used in everyday speech.

    "Raining cats and dogs" is an old expression for heavy rain.

    My grandmother used colorful expressions I had never heard before.

    UsageOften an expression for something: an old expression for heavy rain. Also as the expression goes.

    Similarsaying, idiom

  5. 5
    gene activitynoununcountable
    The process by which the information in a gene is used to make a working product, usually a protein but sometimes RNA.

    Researchers measured the expression of several genes in the tumor samples.

    Hormones can switch the expression of certain genes on or off.

    UsageOften gene expression or the expression of a gene. The verb is express: genes are expressed.

    Note

    Geneticists use the word for a gene at work: its coded information is turned into a working product, usually a protein but sometimes RNA. The process begins with transcription into RNA. For protein-coding genes, translation into a protein follows, often with further chemical changes to the finished protein.

  6. 6
    mathnouncountable
    An arrangement of numbers, symbols, and operators that represents a mathematical value.

    The expression 3x + 2 has no single value until x is known.

    Simplify the expression by combining the like terms.

    UsageYou simplify or evaluate an expression, but you solve an equation: simplify 3x + 2, solve 3x + 2 = 8.

    Note

    Algebra treats it as a phrase rather than a sentence. Values, variables and operators are combined, but nothing asserts that two things are equal. Because an expression makes no claim of equality, the right verbs for it are evaluate and simplify. Solve belongs to the equation: you simplify 3x + 2, but you solve 3x + 2 = 8.

    Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • An algebraic expression is analogous to a phrase rather than a sentence. openstax.org
    • Expressions combine numbers, variables and operation symbols. openstax.org
    • An expression alone does not assert equality; an equation links two expressions with an equality sign. openstax.org
    • Expressions are evaluated and simplified. openstax.org
    • Solving an equation differs from simplifying an expression, as illustrated by the two examples. openstax.org
  7. 7
    computer codenouncountable
    A piece of code in a programming language that produces a value.

    In Python, the expression 2 + 3 evaluates to 5.

    A function call is an expression that yields whatever the function returns.

    Note

    Programming has its own counterpart to the mathematical sense: code that evaluates to a value. Its usual contrast is the statement, which carries out an action and may contain expressions of its own. Expressions nest, so 2 + 3 can sit inside a function call, which can sit inside a larger expression. Asking "what does this evaluate to?" is a good first test, though some languages let an expression stand alone as a statement.

    Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • Programming uses expression for code that evaluates to a value. doc.rust-lang.org
    • This is a common introductory contrast, but statements can also evaluate expressions and compute values; Python explicitly supports expression statements. docs.python.org
    • Expressions can nest, including as function arguments and through function calls within larger expressions. docs.python.org
    • This is only a heuristic: expressions can also form statements, so the language's syntax and surrounding context matter. docs.oracle.com

Less common meanings

  1. 8
    feeling in performancenoununcountable
    The feeling a performer conveys through tone, phrasing, and emphasis when playing music, singing, or reading aloud.

    The pianist played with such expression that the audience fell silent.

    Her playing was technically flawless, but the judges felt the slow movement lacked expression.

    UsageUsually with expression: play with expression, sing with more expression, read with expression.

    Note

    Performance is where this sense lives. It names the shaping a musician gives to sound through dynamics, phrasing and tone color. A score may mark some of this, but much is left to the performer, so two performances with the same notes and rhythm can differ greatly in expression.

  2. 9
    squeezing outnoununcountable
    The act of pressing or squeezing something to force out a liquid.

    Most citrus essential oils are produced by cold expression, in which the peel is pressed rather than heated or distilled.

    The expression of oil from the seeds left a dry cake behind.

    Similarpressing, extraction

    Note

    The physical sense keeps the Latin picture intact: Late Latin expressiō meant "a pressing out". It names extraction by pressure rather than by solvents, whether the material is pressed cold or heated first. It usually takes of: the expression of oil, of juice, of milk from a gland. The figurative uses, such as putting feelings into words, are this same pressing-out applied to what is inside a person.

    Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • Expression derives ultimately from Late Latin expressiō, meaning a pressing out. en.wiktionary.org
    • Mechanical extraction by pressing is distinct from solvent extraction. en.wikipedia.org
    • Pressing can extract oil from cold or previously heated material. en.wikipedia.org
    • Figurative expression of thoughts or feelings applies the image of pressing something internal outward. escholarship.org
  3. 10
    noun
    A particular bottling or variant of whisky from a distillery.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of expression apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

This word was borrowed from Middle French "expression," which comes from Late Latin "expressiō, expressiōnem," meaning "a pressing out." It can also be seen as "express" plus the suffix "-ion."

Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

  • English expression was borrowed from Middle French expression, ultimately from Late Latin expressiō, expressiōnem, meaning “a pressing out.” en.wiktionary.org
  • Expression can be analysed morphologically as express plus -ion. en.wiktionary.org