language model

noun

plural language models

: an artificial intelligence model (see model entry 1 sense 3b) that uses machine learning to analyze 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

Countries that train their engineers, build their local language models, and run their data centers on Chinese technology will come to depend on it. — Daniel Remler, Foreign Affairs, 10 Nov. 2026

Alphabet’s Google division is developing chips designed for small language models used for specialized tasks, such as on-device translation and operating household devices. — John Cassidy, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2026

There’s the vision-language model piece, which is Gemini Embodied Reasoning. — Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 10 Nov. 2026

The system builds on an earlier robot memory framework called DAAAM, which uses a vision-language model (VLM) to generate detailed descriptions of objects captured by a robot’s onboard cameras. — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 6 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for language model

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