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

These are sophisticated conversational agents designed to engage with children’s most vulnerable moments via advanced language models. —Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 4 July 2025

Microsoft's panel of 21 U.S. and U.K. doctors had a median of 12 years of experience but were not allowed to use search engines, language models or other sources of medical information when interacting with SDBench. —Alexis Kayser, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 July 2025

As the craft of writing is degraded by A.I., original writing has become a valuable resource for training language models. —Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 30 June 2025

The decision follows a similar ruling issued on Monday in a case against Anthropic over its language model, Claude. —Gene Maddaus, Variety, 26 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for language model

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