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
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
See All Example Sentences for dialect
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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
See All Example Sentences for dialect
Cite this Entry
“Dialect.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dialect. Accessed 3 Jul. 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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