When it comes to music composition and analysis, the term "musical phrase" is often used interchangeably with phrases like "musical group," "musical segment," and "musical sentence." In essence, when a melody or musical statement is divided or cut up into smaller parts, each smaller part is referred to as a musical phrase. Other synonyms for musical phrase include "melodic fragment," "musical passage," "musical motif," "musical figure," and "musical line." Each of these terms essentially describe a single idea or a small part of a musical statement that can be further analyzed or manipulated within the context of a larger composition.