mantra
or man·tram
[ man-truh, mahn-, muhn- ]
/ ˈmæn trə, ˈmɑn-, ˈmʌn- /
noun
Hinduism.
a word or formula, as from the Veda, chanted or sung as an incantation or prayer.
an often repeated word, formula, or phrase, often a truism: If I hear the “less is more” mantra one more time, I'll scream.
Origin of mantra
Borrowed into English from Sanskrit around 1800–10
OTHER WORDS FROM mantra
man·tric, adjectiveWords nearby mantra
mantlet,
mantletree,
mantling,
mantoux test,
mantova,
mantra,
mantrap,
mantua,
manu,
manu samoa,
manua islands
Example sentences from the Web for mantra
British Dictionary definitions for mantra
mantra
/ (ˈmæntrə, ˈmʌn-) /
noun
Hinduism
any of those parts of the Vedic literature which consist of the metrical psalms of praise
Hinduism Buddhism
any sacred word or syllable used as an object of concentration and embodying some aspect of spiritual power
Word Origin for mantra
C19: from Sanskrit, literally: speech, instrument of thought, from
man to think