dialect

1 of 2

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

dialectal

2 of 2

adjective

di·​a·​lec·​tal ¦dīə¦lektᵊl 

: of, belonging to, or characteristic of a dialect

the dialectal structure of the Eastern States

—Hans Kurath

dialectally

-təlē 

-li

adverb

Synonyms of dialect

Noun

• terminology
• language
• vocabulary
• slang

Examples of dialect in a Sentence

Noun

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

Noun

Like every precocious rising star fluent in the dialect of bluster, Wembanyama talked big, too. — Candace Buckner, New York Times, 24 June 2026

In our day, before there was the interweb, 30 to 40 interviews a week, promoting stuff back-to-back-to-back in all dialects and languages. — Lily Moayeri, SPIN, 25 June 2026

In theory, any language that overlaps with another — to an unspecified degree — could be categorized as a dialect. — Eythana Miller, The Dial, 23 June 2026

Shanghainese scriptwriter Zhang interwove her personal experience into the script, with more than 50% of the dialogue spoken in the Shanghai dialect. — Jenny S. Li, Variety, 12 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

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

First Known Use

Noun

1566, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1767, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing dialect

• dialect atlas
• dialect geography
• sub-dialect

Rhymes for dialect

• affect
• aspect
• bedecked
• bisect
• collect
• connect
• correct
• deflect
• detect
• direct
• dissect
• effect

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