saying
Syllables: say·ingUK/ˈseɪ.ɪŋ/
saying is the present participle and gerund of say.
Noun
saying (plural sayings)
- A proverb or maxim.
- There is a Chinese saying: "One who does not know how to smile has no business to be in business." How much truer is this of people engaged in the business of diplomacy!1983, James C. H. Shen, “Rejoining the Government”, in Robert Myers, editor, The U.S. & Free China: How the U.S. Sold Out Its Ally, Washington, D.C.: Acropolis Books Ltd., →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 30
- Garrus: Fist knows you're coming. We'll have a better chance if we all work together.
Wrex: My people have a saying: Seek the enemy of your enemy, and you will find a friend.2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel
- That which is said; an utterance.
- And I'll be sworn you would believe my saying,
Howe'er you lean to th' nayward.c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
- And I'll be sworn you would believe my saying,
Meaning of say
Verb
say (third-person singular simple present says, present participle saying, simple past and past participle said)
- To pronounce.
- Please say your name slowly and clearly.
- To recite.
- Martha, will you say the Pledge of Allegiance?
- To tell, either verbally or in writing.
- He said he would be here tomorrow.
- To indicate in a written form.
- The sign says it’s 50 kilometres to Paris.
- To have a common expression; used in singular passive voice or plural active voice to indicate a rumor or well-known fact.
- They say "when in Rome, do as the Romans do", which means "behave as those around you do."
- Suppose, assume; used to mark an example, supposition or hypothesis.
- A holiday somewhere warm – Florida, say – would be nice.
Synonyms of saying
10 more synonymsFewer synonyms
- expression
- byword
- adage
- apothegm
- apophthegm
- dictum
- gnome
- gnomic saying
- mantra
- paroemia
Forms of saying
| plural | sayings |
|---|
Origin of saying
From say + -ing.
Words formed from saying
Phrases with saying
- saying aah
- saying boo
- saying yes
- just saying
- saying when
- saying grace
- saying uncle
- saying cheese
- saying it all
- saying goodbye
- as I was saying
- not saying much
25 more phrasesFewer phrases
- saying the word
- saying word one
- what you saying
- you were saying
- go without saying
- saying to oneself
- as the saying goes
- saying one's piece
- goes without saying
- gone without saying
- went without saying
- going without saying
- hear what I'm saying
- know what I'm saying
- saying bo to a goose
- saying one's prayers
- it goes without saying
- that's saying something
- saying someone's prayers
- you hear what I'm saying
- you know what I'm saying
- saying the quiet part loud
- do you know what I'm saying
- if you don't mind me saying
- saying the quiet part out loud
Words that rhyme with saying
Questions about saying
- What does saying mean?
- Saying means a proverb or maxim.
- What is saying the present participle and gerund of?
- Saying is the present participle and gerund of say.
- What part of speech is saying?
- Saying is a noun.
- How do you pronounce saying?
- Saying is pronounced /ˈseɪ.ɪŋ/ (UK).
- What is the plural of saying?
- The plural of saying is sayings.
Words near saying in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: saying (page history and authors); say (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-saying.ogg.
Cite this entry: “saying.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/saying. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.