Thesaurus results for MOTHER TONGUE

mother tongue

noun

Definition of mother tongue

as in language

the stock of words, pronunciation, and grammar used by a people as their basic means of communication although the anthropologist could speak the local language fairly well, she was always glad to find someone who shared her mother tongue

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of mother tongue The notion of a mother tongue assumes that language functions as a common thread in families, tying parent to child. — Literary Hub, 29 Apr. 2026 From the start of his career, Fela aimed to reach a larger and Pan-African audience by singing almost exclusively in Nigerian Pidgin English (rather than his mother tongue, Yoruba, which doesn't translate throughout most of the continent). — Ian Brennan, NPR, 15 Apr. 2026 Playing off a six-language broadcast which means it can be viewed by 75% of Europeans in their mother tongue, Arte is still growing. — John Hopewell, Variety, 26 Mar. 2026 The group last delivered a full-length in its mother tongue, Be, in November 2020. — Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 20 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for mother tongue

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mother tongue

Noun

Whole lives are neatly bound in tidy language, conveyed within the confines of a page or two.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
So early this year, Henderson's doctors, evaluating his tumor's deep genetic language, turned to a drug made by Merck and AstraZeneca called Lynparza.

— Arthur Allen, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of language

Noun

Children often don’t have the vocabulary to name a fear directly or the confidence that a topic is safe to raise.

— Anahi Collado, The Conversation, 22 Sep. 2026
Skin barrier talk has moved from dermatology offices into TikTok routines and product marketing, and the vocabulary is starting to change how people buy skincare.

— Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of vocabulary

Noun

Backcountry Tiny Homes The interior measures 400 sq ft (37 sq m), which is around the same as a studio apartment, and has an attractive finish made up of natural tongue-and-groove knotty pine on the walls and ceiling, plus hardwood floors.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Sep. 2026
His selection of proteins for street tacos include favorites like beef tripe, cow tongue, cow head, suadero, birria, pollo al pastor, carnitas and chorizo.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of tongue

Noun

Its traditional dialect, Brusselian, was the only language that was neither just Germanic nor just Romance, but both Germanic and Romance.

— Benjamin Moser, Travel + Leisure, 8 Sep. 2026
Owner and chef Stefania Marchesini, who fished professionally herself for 11 years, pays a premium to local fishermen, especially for soft-shell crabs known in the local dialect as moeche.

— ABC News, ABC News, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of dialect

Noun

Cinema is, after all, a language, and Belgian filmmakers come from a country built on the need to understand language as a bridge—between its regions, its people, and its idioms.

— Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026
The multigenerational family epic is one of my favorite kinds of novels, and Min Jin Lee is a master of that idiom.

— Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2026