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

Its sales team is trying to solve every problem in front of them with the tool the company sells, and that tool is a language model. — Stephen Messer, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026

According to research published in the Proceedings of Machine Learning Research, across six large language models (LLMs), eight small language models and six specialised small language models, only 41 African languages were represented. — Will Barker, TheWeek, 22 Oct. 2026

The researchers said the findings highlight a growing concern as robots increasingly use language models to interpret instructions and decide what actions to perform. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 21 Oct. 2026

And this is just the first step in training a language model, known as pre-training. — New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for language model

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