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
Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 May 2024
The post included a photo of him feeding ice cream off a spoon to his Labrador mix named Scout.
President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign added a photo of the president strolling on the White House lawn with one of his three German Shepherds.
—Heather Hollingsworth, Fortune, 3 May 2024
The Bee’s archives do show The German Bakery’s equipment being sold off in a post-bankruptcy auction eight months after the bear claw ad, thus marking the end of Geibel’s business.
—Benjy Egel, Sacramento Bee, 2 May 2024
His son Orson found the shoebox of 13 tapes, interviews about her life that the Italian German secretly recorded in New York in the 1990s.
—Marissa Charles, Peoplemag, 2 May 2024
Creation Originale Language: French, German A mysterious group of French soldiers with superhuman abilities are sent on an undercover mission to put an end to the First World War.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 7 Apr. 2024
The arrival of a million refugees from Syria and elsewhere in 2015 continues to shape ongoing debates about who is a German.
—Jason Farago, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2024
The German has simply revolutionised the club and his decision to leave Liverpool at the end of the season came as a shock to the world of football.
—Ben Church, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
Take a look → Mysterious wooden train car — almost 100 years old — unearthed in Belgium, photos show
During WWII, the Nazi German Army built a military stronghold at the Directeur-Generaal Willemspark in Knokke-Heist, officials said.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2024
Noun
The film, which premiered in Berlin’s Encounters section last year, won the top prize at the Oldenburg Film Festival, the German Independence Award.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 May 2024
The post included a photo of him feeding ice cream off a spoon to his Labrador mix named Scout.
President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign added a photo of the president strolling on the White House lawn with one of his three German Shepherds.
—Heather Hollingsworth, Fortune, 3 May 2024
The Bee’s archives do show The German Bakery’s equipment being sold off in a post-bankruptcy auction eight months after the bear claw ad, thus marking the end of Geibel’s business.
—Benjy Egel, Sacramento Bee, 2 May 2024
His son Orson found the shoebox of 13 tapes, interviews about her life that the Italian German secretly recorded in New York in the 1990s.
—Marissa Charles, Peoplemag, 2 May 2024
Creation Originale Language: French, German A mysterious group of French soldiers with superhuman abilities are sent on an undercover mission to put an end to the First World War.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 7 Apr. 2024
The arrival of a million refugees from Syria and elsewhere in 2015 continues to shape ongoing debates about who is a German.
—Jason Farago, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2024
The German has simply revolutionised the club and his decision to leave Liverpool at the end of the season came as a shock to the world of football.
—Ben Church, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
Take a look → Mysterious wooden train car — almost 100 years old — unearthed in Belgium, photos show
During WWII, the Nazi German Army built a military stronghold at the Directeur-Generaal Willemspark in Knokke-Heist, officials said.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 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 6 May. 2024.
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