dialect

noun

di·​a·​lect ˈdī-ə-ˌlekt 

often attributive

1

linguistics

a

: a regional variety of language distinguished by features of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation from other regional varieties and constituting together with them a single language

the Doric dialect of ancient Greek

a dialect of Chinese spoken in Hong Kong

b

: one of two or more cognate (see cognate entry 1 sense 3a) languages

French and Italian are Romance dialects.

c

: a variety of a language used by the members of a group

… such dialects as politics and advertising …

—Philip Howard

d

: a variety of language whose identity is fixed by a factor other than geography (such as social class)

spoke a peasant dialect

e

: register sense 4c

f

: a version of a computer programming language

2

: manner or means of expressing oneself : phraseology

dialectal

ˌdī-ə-ˈlek-tᵊl 

adjective

dialectally

ˌdī-ə-ˈlek-tə-lē 

adverb

Synonyms of dialect

• terminology
• language
• vocabulary
• slang

Examples of dialect in a Sentence

They speak a southern dialect of French.

The author uses dialect in his writing.

The play was hard to understand when the characters spoke in dialect.

Recent Examples on the Web

There are four official languages spoken—and most Singaporeans are bilingual or even trilingual—but English is the de facto dialect. —Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 23 Dec. 2025

The school district, where at least 20 languages and dialects are spoken, has higher high school graduation and college attendance rates than the state and national average, and one of Nebraska’s biggest marching bands. —Jesse Bedayn, Fortune, 22 Dec. 2025

Regional words are a parallel type of dialect. —Louis Menand, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025

In fact, a professor from the University of Southern California was hired to create the Na’vi’s dialect based on a myriad of different languages from around the world. —Skyler Trepel, PEOPLE, 21 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French dialecte, from Latin dialectus, from Greek dialektos conversation, dialect, from dialegesthai to converse — more at dialogue

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing dialect

• dialect atlas
• dialect geography
• sub-dialect

Rhymes for dialect

• architect
• circumspect
• deselect
• disconnect
• disinfect
• disrespect
• incorrect
• indirect
• intellect
• interject
• intersect
• pluperfect

Kids Definition

dialect

noun

di·​a·​lect ˈdī-ə-ˌlekt 

1

: a regional variety of a language differing from the standard language

2

: a variety of a language used by the members of a particular group or class

peasant dialect

dialectal

ˌdī-ə-ˈlek-tᵊl 

adjective

dialectally

-tᵊl-ē 

adverb