language model

noun

plural language models

: a mathematical model (see model entry 1 sense 3) that analyzes a corpus of text in order to accurately represent the relationships between words

We have tremendous freedom to put words in any order we like. The computer has to have some kind of handle, a language model. It has to figure how likely any particular word is to pop up at any time.

—Robert Mercer, quoted in Chicago Tribune

also : software that uses a language model to generate text (such as responses to queries or prompts)

For example, given the task of analyzing the sentiment of the sentence 'I missed the bus today,' researchers could continue with the prompt 'I felt so [blank]' and ask a language model to fill in the blank with an emotion.

—Kyle Wiggers

see also large language model

Examples of language model in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

When entered into the software, the paperwork travels through multiple language models trained by hundreds of questions related to HOAs and becomes sorted into categories and ratings across four pages. —Amancai Biraben, Oc Register, 24 Apr. 2026

Those include ConversationRelay, which aims to generate human-like speech that connects to large-language models like ChatGPT, as well as a product called Conversational Intelligence. —Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 22 Apr. 2026

Manycore has already released several open-source models, including SpatialLM, a spatial language model that can understand and generate 3D environments, and SpatialGen. —Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 16 Apr. 2026

Your language model would clam up from time to time to conserve its resources. —Amanda Gefter, Quanta Magazine, 10 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for language model

• caudal
• caudle
• dawdle
• twaddle
• waddle
• remodel