1
a
: a native or inhabitant of Germany
b
: a person of German descent
c
: one whose native language is German and who is a native of a country other than Germany
2
a
: the Germanic language spoken mainly in Germany, Austria, and parts of Switzerland
b
: the literary and official language of Germany
3
: a member of any of the Germanic peoples inhabiting western Europe in Roman times
4
often not capitalized
a
: a dance consisting of intricate figures that are improvised and intermingled with waltzes
b
chiefly Midland US
: a dancing party
specifically
: one at which the german is danced
: of, relating to, or characteristic of Germany, the Germans, or German
ger·man
ˈjər-mən 
: having the same parents or the same grandparents on either the maternal or paternal side
—usually used after the noun which it modifies and joined to it by a hyphen
brother-german
cousin-german
obsolete
: a near relative
Examples of German in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Shannon Bond, NPR, 6 June 2024
Hearing a bunch of men talking loudly in German in the hotel sent her into a panic, and she was found crouching under the concierge desk.
—Maureen Dowd, New York Times, 6 June 2024
For Germans visiting Normandy, the topic of D-Day – and World War II in general – remains fraught.
—Colette Davidson, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 June 2024
And after a 1-for-12 shooting nightmare in the first half Sunday, the Big German needed plenty of assistance.
—Randy Galloway, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 June 2024
One way to turn things around is addressing the shortfall in workers, with the German Opportunity Card website stating that employers in the country have decried the obstacles to attracting talent.
—Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 30 May 2024
When European immigrants began arriving in the United States in large numbers after 1850, Milwaukee was the destination for Germans.
—Terri Colby, Chicago Tribune, 22 May 2024
He's translated dozens of books from German to English, including authors such as Franz Kafka and Hans Fallada.
—Andrew Limbong, NPR, 21 May 2024
So far, the feature supports the translation of Spanish into English as well as the translation of English to German, Hindi, Italian, Russian, and Spanish.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 21 May 2024
Noun
That hasn’t stopped RT articles from proliferating across hundreds of other websites widely available in Europe, according to a recent report from the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the University of Amsterdam and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.
—Shannon Bond, NPR, 6 June 2024
Hearing a bunch of men talking loudly in German in the hotel sent her into a panic, and she was found crouching under the concierge desk.
—Maureen Dowd, New York Times, 6 June 2024
For Germans visiting Normandy, the topic of D-Day – and World War II in general – remains fraught.
—Colette Davidson, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 June 2024
And after a 1-for-12 shooting nightmare in the first half Sunday, the Big German needed plenty of assistance.
—Randy Galloway, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 June 2024
One way to turn things around is addressing the shortfall in workers, with the German Opportunity Card website stating that employers in the country have decried the obstacles to attracting talent.
—Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 30 May 2024
When European immigrants began arriving in the United States in large numbers after 1850, Milwaukee was the destination for Germans.
—Terri Colby, Chicago Tribune, 22 May 2024
He's translated dozens of books from German to English, including authors such as Franz Kafka and Hans Fallada.
—Andrew Limbong, NPR, 21 May 2024
So far, the feature supports the translation of Spanish into English as well as the translation of English to German, Hindi, Italian, Russian, and Spanish.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 21 May 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'German.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near German
Cite this Entry
“German.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/German. Accessed 11 Jun. 2024.
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