mantra
Americannoun
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Hinduism. a word or formula, as from the Veda, chanted or sung as an incantation or prayer.
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an often repeated word, formula, or phrase, often a truism.
If I hear the “less is more” mantra one more time, I'll scream.
noun
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Hinduism any of those parts of the Vedic literature which consist of the metrical psalms of praise
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Hinduism Buddhism any sacred word or syllable used as an object of concentration and embodying some aspect of spiritual power
Other Word Forms
- mantric adjective
Etymology
Origin of mantra
Borrowed into English from Sanskrit around 1800–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s been a standard mantra of financial advisers and commentators for about two generations.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 20, 2026
“What the form of a mantra does is it means that you don’t really have to worry about wrapping things up,” he explains.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026
"We will take all the data and see what works. Everything that works well will proceed," he said -- a personal mantra that would not appear out of place in Silicon Valley.
From Barron's • Mar. 12, 2026
It shattered the Windsor mantra of “never complain, never explain,” stripping back the mystique of monarchy, revealing a somewhat dysfunctional family trapped inside an institution it struggles to manage.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026
Rowan had begun repeating this to himself like a mantra, hoping it would make it easier to digest.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
