lexicon

noun lex·i·con \ ˈlek-sə-ˌkän also -kən \

|Updated on: 14 Jun 2018

Examples: lexicon in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Tips on Using lexicon in a Sentence

Definition of lexicon

plural lexica play \ˈlek-sə-kə\ or lexicons

1 : a book containing an alphabetical arrangement of the words in a language and their definitions : dictionary

a French lexicon

2 a : the vocabulary of a language, an individual speaker or group of speakers, or a subject

computer terms that have been added to the lexicon

b : the total stock of morphemes in a language

3 : repertoire, inventory

added the DVD to his video lexicon

See lexicon defined for English-language learners

See lexicon defined for kids

Examples of lexicon in a Sentence

a computer term that has entered the general lexicon
an avid word enthusiast who is compiling a lexicon of archaic and unusual words

Recent Examples of lexicon from the Web

But for Great Britain, the derogatory term could soon be phased out of the lexicon entirely, if the demands of a new report come into effect.

— refinery29.com, ""Anti-Aging" Is Officially Being Phased Out — & That's Good News For Women," 11 June 2018
If never quite taken for granted, the greatest of these works — mostly portraits, generally of women — seem to have always been a part of the contemporary American image lexicon.

— charles desmarais, SFChronicle.com, "Charles Desmarais’ art picks for June 10," 7 June 2018
The authenticity of the emoji lexicon seems to have always been extremely important to the team at Google.

— carson kessler, Fortune, "Google Updates Salad Emoji to New Vegan-Friendly Alternative," 7 June 2018
But since then, deep state has entered the public lexicon with a vengeance.

— glenn garvin, Anchorage Daily News, "Is the deep state real — and is it really at war with Donald Trump?," 3 Feb. 2018
Then there’s the huge assortment of glassware, which functions as a lexicon of Roman design.

— joshua levine, Smithsonian, "Travel to Southern France for a Dazzling Taste of Ancient Rome," 24 May 2018
In the lexicon of great Big Dude Moments in Wisconsin sports history, it, unfortunately, does not top this: Maybe if Sagapolu had some post-flip dancing.

— jr radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Behold, University of Wisconsin 338-pound lineman Olive Sagapolu performing a backflip," 22 May 2018
This story is one of alternative facts and fake news — two, three years before those terms entered the common lexicon.

— leah sottile, Longreads, "Bundyville Chapter One: A War in the Desert," 15 May 2018
Much of the preparation for the Bee involves wrangling this beast of a lexicon, finding the most efficient ways to commit to memory the roots of English word formation.

— ben zimmer, The Atlantic, "The Infectious Enthusiasm of Breaking the Bee," 11 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lexicon.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Tips on Using lexicon in a Sentence

The word lexicon has a number of closely-related meanings, which can easily lead to confusion and may cause the word to be used in an awkward way. Lexicon can refer to a general dictionary of a language (as in "a lexicon of the Hebrew language") and also to a narrower printed compilation of words within some sphere (as in "a medical lexicon" or "a lexicon of the German in Finnegans Wake").

Similarly, lexicon can refer both to the vocabulary of a specific group of people ("the lexicon of French") or to the general language used by an unspecified group of people ("a word that has not entered the general lexicon yet"). It may also often be found in reference to the vocabulary employed by a particular speaker ("'Failure' is not a word in my lexicon").