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 rough 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

• argot
• cant
• jargon
• jive
• language
• lingo
• patois
• patter
• shop
• shoptalk
• slang
• terminology
• vocabulary

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

Some stems from that, and then some stems from being around Pacific Islanders all day and other Samoans and Hawaiians and different dialects and different slang. —Rebecca Jennings, Vulture, 11 June 2025

And last summer, Ferrari executives reportedly received WhatsApp voice messages mimicking their CEO’s voice, down to the regional dialect. —Anisha Sircar, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025

The documentary film embraces a wide spectrum of accents, dialects and expressions. —Christian Arias, Baltimore Sun, 12 May 2025

Weyman didn’t have long to prepare for the massive character milestone, but emphasized the importance of dialect to his portrayal of the Grey Wanderer. —Lauren Coates, Variety, 9 June 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