Meaning & use
mantra
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountablereligion
A sacred sound, word, or phrase repeated aloud or silently in meditation and prayer, especially in Hindu and Buddhist practice.
Grammar: Often used with chant or repeat: chant a mantra.
Patterns
- chant a mantra
- repeat a mantra
The teacher asked the class to silently repeat a mantra.
Monks chanted a mantra at dawn.
She calmed her breathing with a simple mantra.
nouncountablefigurative
A phrase or slogan repeated so often that it sums up someone's beliefs or goals.
Grammar: Everyday use: the team's mantra.
Patterns
- the mantra of something
- live by a mantra
Quality over quantity became the bakery's mantra.
His mantra before every race was simple: stay calm.
The company's mantra is to put customers first.
Word forms
| plural | mantras |
|---|
Common combinations
- chant a mantra
- They chant a mantra to begin each session.
- personal mantra
- Her personal mantra is to keep going.
- repeat a mantra
- He repeated his mantra to settle his nerves.
- company mantra
- The company mantra is hung on the office wall.
- mantra meditation
- Mantra meditation uses a single repeated sound.
Synonyms and how they differ
- slogan
- A slogan is a catchy phrase used to promote something, whereas a mantra is a guiding phrase one repeats to oneself.
- motto
- A motto is a short statement of a principle belonging to a group or school, with a formal feel.
- chant
- A chant is anything sung or shouted rhythmically, while a mantra is a specific repeated word or phrase in meditation.
- credo
- Credo is a formal word for a statement of beliefs, less rhythmic than a mantra.
Word family
- mantric adjective
- relating to a mantra
- mantras noun
- plural form
- meditate verb
- to focus the mind in quiet
- meditation noun
- quiet focused practice
Commonly confused: mantra or mandate?
mantra vs mandate
A mandate is an official authority to act, while a mantra is a repeated phrase of belief.
Practice
The coach's ___ was 'one play at a time,' and the players repeated it before every game.
Choose one answer.
A mantra is a repeated guiding phrase. A mandate is a formal authority to act, so it does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mantra”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.