1. relating to or denoting a single word or utterance that expresses a complete thought or idea
Usage: linguistics; developmental psychology
2. characteristic of early language development in children, in which a single word conveys multiple meanings or a whole sentence
Usage: developmental psychology; child language acquisition

Examples

• The child's holophrastic utterance 'milk' served to express hunger, desire, and a request all at once.
• Linguists study holophrastic speech as a key stage in language development.
• In holophrastic communication, a single word like 'dog' might mean 'I see a dog,' 'I want the dog,' or 'That is a dog.'
• The toddler's holophrastic phase typically occurs between 12 and 18 months of age.
• Holophrastic expressions are common in pidgin languages where grammatical structures are minimal.