slogan

noun

slo·​gan ˈslō-gən 

1

a

: a war cry especially of a Scottish clan

b

: a word or phrase used to express a characteristic position or stand or a goal to be achieved

2

: a brief attention-getting phrase used in advertising or promotion

Synonyms

• banner
• catchphrase
• cry
• shibboleth
• tagline
• watchword

Examples of slogan in a Sentence

within days, virtually everyone was familiar with the newest advertising slogan for that brand of soda

Recent Examples on the Web

In Kelly’s bedroom, authorities found notebooks that had slogans that would appear on signs Kelly would later make, along with notes about where they would be located, the court filing said. —Perry Vandell, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024

The group banded around the new slogan with a few more jokes, and some dramatic superhero music was used to score the new catchphrase. —Luke Gentile, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 1 Nov. 2024

Now his slogans would undoubtedly be used as hashtags on social media. —Asif Burhan, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024

That’s right, in nearly half of U.S. states, those T-shirts emblazoned with candidates’ faces or campaign slogans could be considered electioneering, or an attempt to influence someone’s vote. —Jeremy Tanner, The Hill, 1 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

alteration of earlier slogorn, from Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm, from sluagh army, host + gairm cry

First Known Use

1513, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

slogan

noun

slo·​gan ˈslō-gən 

1

: a word or phrase that calls to battle

2

: a word or phrase used by a party, a group, or a business to attract attention

Etymology

from earlier slogorn "war cry, rallying cry," from Scottish Gaelic, the ancient language of Scotland, sluagh-gairm "army cry," from sluagh "army" and ghairm "call, cry"

Word Origin

The clans of Scotland were groups of related families that joined together, especially to defend against outsiders. In the old days these outsiders might be other clans, but usually they were the English to the south. When it was time to gather members of the clan for a battle, the Scots would shout the sluagh-gairm, which meant "army cry." It is made up of the Scottish Gaelic word sluagh, meaning "army," and ghairm, meaning "call, cry." This came into English as slogorn and later became slogan. At first slogan meant a "battle cry" or "rallying cry." Later it came to be used for "a motto or phrase used by a group to attract attention."