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
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
f
: a version of a computer programming language
2
: manner or means of expressing oneself : phraseology
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
The versatility in dialects in these tracks—from Moroccan to Khaleeji Arabic—reflects his fluency, not just linguistically but musically, across several continents.
—Maha Elnabawi, Billboard, 29 Apr. 2025
The technology differentiated among different dialects in Lebanon to gauge public reaction, helping Israel to assess if there was public pressure for a counterstrike.
—Sheera Frenkel, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2025
Germany has dozens of dialects, formal and informal speech variations and industry-specific terminology that AI models must accurately recognize and process.
—Leonard Martin Schmedding, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025
This story was translated to the Central Yup’ik dialect of Yugtun.
—Taylor Kate Brown, ProPublica, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dialect
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Maha Elnabawi, Billboard, 29 Apr. 2025
The technology differentiated among different dialects in Lebanon to gauge public reaction, helping Israel to assess if there was public pressure for a counterstrike.
—Sheera Frenkel, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2025
Germany has dozens of dialects, formal and informal speech variations and industry-specific terminology that AI models must accurately recognize and process.
—Leonard Martin Schmedding, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025
This story was translated to the Central Yup’ik dialect of Yugtun.
—Taylor Kate Brown, ProPublica, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dialect
Cite this Entry
“Dialect.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dialect. Accessed 8 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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