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
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Recent Examples of mother tongue
While many nations have codified their mother tongue—France with French, Japan with Japanese, or Mexico with Spanish—America has always relied on practice and practicality rather than statute.
—
Doug Melville, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Japanese is the only language that leaves Li’s mouth, but her occasional inner monologues are in her mother tongue, the most crucial example expressing her growing conflict with the very act of writing itself.
—Josh Slater-Williams, IndieWire, 17 Aug. 2025
Many countries offer visas for language learning, which are student visas specifically designed for people interested in studying the mother tongue of a destination.
—Solo Travel, AFAR Media, 14 Aug. 2025
About three-quarters of Singapore’s residents claim Chinese descent and, at the same time, English is its mother tongue and business lingua franca.
—Kevin West, Travel + Leisure, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for mother tongue
Doug Melville, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Japanese is the only language that leaves Li’s mouth, but her occasional inner monologues are in her mother tongue, the most crucial example expressing her growing conflict with the very act of writing itself.
—Josh Slater-Williams, IndieWire, 17 Aug. 2025
Many countries offer visas for language learning, which are student visas specifically designed for people interested in studying the mother tongue of a destination.
—Solo Travel, AFAR Media, 14 Aug. 2025
About three-quarters of Singapore’s residents claim Chinese descent and, at the same time, English is its mother tongue and business lingua franca.
—Kevin West, Travel + Leisure, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for mother tongue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mother tongue
Noun
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Brittany is joined by Emily Kwong, co-host of NPR’s science podcast Short Wave, to explore why putting your brain through learning a new language offers surprising benefits and opportunities for connection.—
Brittany Luse,
NPR,
16 Feb. 2026
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Neither Wicks, nor any other legislator, has released legislative language yet aimed at supporting the industry.—
CalMatters,
Mercury News,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Nate’s style, vocabulary and delivery are like no one else who has ever lived.—
Mac Engel
February 13,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 Feb. 2026
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Francesca’s pinnacle Once a Regency world has implied there’s mass print culture capable of speedy and pervasive distribution of colored images, something as persnickety as vocabulary is probably beside the point.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The sneaker’s tongue and shoelaces appear to have been given a vintage-esque off-white treatment, and the black toe features a new ripstop material, but the style otherwise maintains the original details of the 1995 Neon colorway.—
Riley Jones,
Footwear News,
14 Feb. 2026
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Dylan stuck out his tongue in gleeful celebration of only his second basket in the semifinal, and their famous father laughed heartily at courtside.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Steven Gebelin, who represented Puig in 2021 and 2022, testified at trial that his then-client tried to be helpful during the interview but, because the interpreter’s Spanish dialect differed from Puig’s, his answers were translated poorly.—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
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Puig’s former attorney Steven Gebelin testified that during the January 2022 interview, Puig tried to be helpful in answering the investigators’ questions and the interpreter struggled with Puig’s Spanish dialect, according to the New York Times.—
Jaimie Ding,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Those books introduced me to a vision of American teenage life and taught me the rhythms and idioms of American English, nuances that would later replace my Britishisms and shape my career as a journalist.—
Faith Karimi,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
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Next to the particularities of place—the Midwest, the South—or enmeshed with it, are the particularities of language, of idiom, and ways of saying.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mother tongue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mother%20tongue. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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