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

Fastino, a Palo Alto company backed by Khosla Ventures, launched task-specific language models in 2025, claiming inference nearly 100 times faster than existing LLMs and pricing built on a flat monthly subscription rather than per-token fees. — Joe Toscano, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026

But more recently, large vision language models have ushered in a new capability. — Katie Palmer, STAT, 25 June 2026

The three benchmarks Recursive used involve training a small language model, improving AI training speed, and optimizing a GPU kernel, the tiny mathematical steps that a GPU has to perform to train or run an AI model. — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 23 June 2026

Deepfakes have been a constant presence in the AI age as large-language models have made generating depictions of actors, singers and other celebrities much more accessible to the public. — Corbin Bolies, Variety, 16 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for language model

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