# expression

Pronunciation: say "ik-SPRESH-uhn" /ɪkˈspɹɛʃ.n̩/

## Noun

1. The act of putting thoughts, ideas, or feelings into words, actions, or art.
   - Simple: The act of showing thoughts, ideas, or feelings through 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._
2. The look on a person's face, usually linked to a particular emotion.
   - Simple: The look on your face that shows what you are feeling.
   - _A puzzled expression crossed his face as he read the letter._
   - _She studied their expressions, trying to guess what they were thinking._
3. A particular way of phrasing an idea in words.
   - Simple: A certain way of saying something using particular 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._
4. A common saying or idiom used in everyday speech.
   - Simple: A common saying that people often use in everyday talk.
   - _"Raining cats and dogs" is an old expression for heavy rain._
   - _My grandmother used colorful expressions I had never heard before._
5. The process by which the information in a gene is used to make a working product, usually a protein but sometimes RNA.
   - Simple: The way a cell uses the instructions in a gene to make something it needs, usually a protein.
   - _Researchers measured the expression of several genes in the tumor samples._
   - _Hormones can switch the expression of certain genes on or off._
6. An arrangement of numbers, symbols, and operators that represents a mathematical value.
   - Simple: A group of numbers, letters, and signs that shows a math calculation.
   - _The expression 3x + 2 has no single value until x is known._
   - _Simplify the expression by combining the like terms._
7. A piece of code in a programming language that produces a value.
   - Simple: A small piece of computer code that gives back a value.
   - _In Python, the expression 2 + 3 evaluates to 5._
   - _A function call is an expression that yields whatever the function returns._
8. The feeling a performer conveys through tone, phrasing, and emphasis when playing music, singing, or reading aloud.
   - Simple: The feeling someone puts into music they play or sing, or into words they read 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._
9. The act of pressing or squeezing something to force out a liquid.
   - Simple: The act of pressing something hard to squeeze a liquid out.
   - _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._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A particular bottling or variant of whisky from a distillery.

## 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."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/expression (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).