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

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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

The administration’s language would establish a range of mandatory minimum sentences based on the amount of loss involved in fraud schemes, according to the document.

— Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 6 Oct. 2026
In 2025, the first chime of bells from a mountain pavilion at dawn, accompanied by a gentle morning greeting, creates a space where each collection is experienced independently and explores the versatile expressions of Songmont’s design language.

— Footwear News, Footwear News, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of language

Noun

The title comes from a phrase that became part of his creative vocabulary and began appearing in sketches whenever an absurd situation called for a perfectly incredulous response.

— Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Under Quotidien’s famously flattering lights, Bieber’s signature beauty vocabulary came into particularly sharp focus.

— Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of vocabulary

Noun

The President of the United States (John Goodman) and his cabinet of hawkish generals, gargoyle-ish officials, and speaking-in-tongues spiritual advisors gather at the oilman’s house to discuss next steps.

— David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Sep. 2026
His tongue tended to home in on the pocket behind his upper right incisors.

— Tom Drury, Harpers Magazine, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of tongue

Noun

Documenting many varieties is a way to not just share the language, but to illustrate how dialects of Pennsylvania Dutch differ and maybe even fill in each other’s gaps.

— Eythana Miller, The Dial, 24 Sep. 2026
Italy is a unique country where every city has its own identity, architecture, traditions, flavors, dialects and even different ways of life.

— Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of dialect

Noun

The first Velvet Underground album, the mid-period Beatles, Kinks, and Creedence Clearwater Revival records, with enough time, seem almost like different components to the same idiom.

— Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
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

Definition of idiom

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“Mother tongue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mother%20tongue. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of mother tongue

noun

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