cliché

UK: /kliːʃeɪ/ US: /kliˈʃeɪ, klɪ-/ ,(klē shā′, kli-)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

cli•ché or cli•che/kliˈʃeɪ, klɪ-/   n. [countable]

1. an overused or trite expression, plot, style, etc.:
   The phrases sadder but wiser, or strong as an ox are clichés.
2. anything that has become trite through overuse.

cli•ched, adj.: 

a clichéd remark.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

cli•ché  (klē shā′, kli-), n. 

1. a trite, stereotyped expression;
   a sentence or phrase, usually expressing a popular or common thought or idea, that has lost originality, ingenuity, and impact by long overuse, as sadder but wiser, or strong as an ox.
2. (in art, literature, drama, etc.) a trite or hackneyed plot, character development, use of color, musical expression, etc.
3. anything that has become trite or commonplace through overuse.
4. [Print. Brit.]
   • Printing a stereotype or electrotype plate.
   • Printing a reproduction made in a like manner.

adj. 

5. trite;
   hackneyed;
   stereotyped;
   clichéd.

Also, cli•che′. 

• French: stereotype plate, stencil, cliché, noun, nominal use of past participle of clicher to make such a plate, said to be imitative of the sound of the metal pressed against the matrix
• 1825–35

Synonyms

• 1. platitude, bromide, stereotype, commonplace.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

cliché / ˈkliːʃeɪ/ noun

1. a word or expression that has lost much of its force through overexposure, as for example the phrase
2. an idea, action, or habit that has become trite from overuse
3. a stereotype or electrotype plate

Etymology: 19th Century: from French, from clicher to stereotype; imitative of the sound made by the matrix when it is dropped into molten metal

ˈclichéd, ˈcliché'd adjective