jargon

1 of 2

noun

jar·​gon ˈjär-gən 

-ˌgän

1

: the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity or group

sports jargon

2

: obscure and often pretentious language marked by circumlocutions and long words

an academic essay filled with jargon

3

a

: confused unintelligible language

b

: a strange, outlandish, or barbarous language or dialect

c

: a hybrid language or dialect simplified in vocabulary and grammar and used for communication between peoples of different speech

jargony

ˈjär-gə-nē 

-ˌgä-nē

adjective

jargon

2 of 2

verb

jargoned; jargoning; jargons

intransitive verb

1

: jargonize

2

: twitter, warble

Synonyms

Noun

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

Verb

• cheep
• chirp
• chirrup
• chitter
• peep
• pip
• pipe
• tweet
• twitter

Examples of jargon in a Sentence

Noun

medical jargon that the layman cannot understand

an academic essay filled with jargon

Verb

the birds who began jargoning to greet the dawn

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The war that Trump is waging is cultural, based not on complex legal jargon but on feelings. —Grace Byron, New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2025

The semantic layer maps business-level definitions, key performance indicators (KPIs) and organizational corporate jargon to data fields. —Artyom Keydunov, Forbes.com, 3 Apr. 2025

Verb

That’s like the same thing that happened in 2008 when everybody was bedazzled by all these Wall Street jargon terms like collateralized debt obligations. —Recode Staff, Recode, 13 June 2018

That’s like the same thing that happened in 2008 when everybody was bedazzled by all these Wall Street jargon terms like collateralized debt obligations. —Recode Staff, Recode, 13 June 2018

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French jargun, gargon

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing jargon

• Chinook jargon

Rhymes for jargon

• bargain

Kids Definition

jargon

noun

jar·​gon

ˈjär-gən,

-ˌgän

1

: the special language of a particular activity or group

legal jargon

2

: language that is not clear and is full of long important-sounding words

3

: a mixed language used for communication between peoples whose native languages are different

Medical Definition

jargon

noun

jar·​gon ˈjär-gən, -ˌgän 

1

: the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity, group, profession, or field of study

medical jargon

2

: unintelligible, meaningless, or incoherent speech (as that associated with Wernicke's aphasia or some forms of schizophrenia)