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mother tongues

noun

plural of mother tongue
as in languages
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 tongues Work with people of different ages, backgrounds, perspectives, and mother tongues. — Rachel Konrad, Time, 9 Dec. 2025 Each actress nails the comedic timing – and the accented English that flows with the cadence of their mother tongues. — Elizabeth B. Kim, Cincinnati Enquirer, 7 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mother tongues
  1. languages
  2. vocabularies
  3. tongues
  4. idioms
  5. dialects
Noun
  • The effort to improve access to AI in more languages has drawn roughly 60 participants, the Gates Foundation said on Monday.
    — Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026
  • The Gates Foundation is committing at least $1 billion globally to AI development over the next two years with funding focused on education, making AI work across more languages and local contexts, as well as in health, and agriculture.
    — Yinka Adegoke, semafor.com, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of languages
Noun
  • Yet a 2023 Stanford study said that Pangram was biased against non-native English speakers, who might have more limited vocabularies, and many AI researchers contend that such detectors are unreliable.
    — Cameron Pugh, Christian Science Monitor, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Chinese law schools have accordingly placed greater weight on teaching Chinese students to argue using the vocabularies of foreign legal systems.
    — Mark Jia, Foreign Affairs, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of vocabularies
Noun
  • Mesh on the tongues ensures their breathability, and the simple off-white and black combination will be a breeze to style.
    — Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 17 Sep. 2026
  • As the bullying escalates and tensions boil over, tongues loosen, forcing the truth out into the open.
    — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of tongues
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
  • There are plenty of idioms to describe Andrean outside hitter Aleece Ehler’s freshman season.
    — Noah Poser, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of idioms
Noun
  • On the edges of the empire, speakers of Germanic dialects, such as the Goths and Vandals, frequently clashed with the Romans, eventually contributing to the fragmentation of the empire.
    — Scott Spires, Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Sep. 2026
  • What used to be two entirely separate compliance projects is starting to look like two dialects of the same emerging language.
    — Abdelahhad Barbour, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of dialects

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mother tongue
mother tongues
mother wit
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Cite this Entry

“Mother tongues.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mother%20tongues. Accessed 23 Sep. 2026.

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