dialect
noun
di·a·lect
ˈdī-ə-ˌlekt 
often attributive
1
linguistics
a
: a regional variety of language distinguished by features of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation from other regional varieties and constituting together with them a single language
the Doric dialect of ancient Greek
a dialect of Chinese spoken in Hong Kong
b
: one of two or more cognate (see cognate entry 1 sense 3a) languages
French and Italian are Romance dialects
c
: a variety of a language used by the members of a group
such dialects as politics and advertising—
Philip Howard
Philip Howard
d
: a variety of language whose identity is fixed by a factor other than geography (such as social class)
spoke a rough peasant dialect
f
: a version of a computer programming language
2
: manner or means of expressing oneself : phraseology
Synonyms
Examples of dialect in a Sentence
They speak a southern dialect of French.
The author uses dialect in his writing.
The play was hard to understand when the characters spoke in dialect.
Recent Examples on the Web
English is commonly spoken in the cities most visited by tourists, and in the small towns, most residents speak Italian or the Sicilian dialect.
—Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 30 May 2024
The 21 titles represent artists from across Latin America and the United States that reflect the scope of the complicated and loose concept of Latinidad, in languages that include Spanish (in its many dialects), English, Portuguese and even Mixtec.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for dialect 
Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 30 May 2024
The 21 titles represent artists from across Latin America and the United States that reflect the scope of the complicated and loose concept of Latinidad, in languages that include Spanish (in its many dialects), English, Portuguese and even Mixtec.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for dialect
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dialect.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near dialect
Cite this Entry
“Dialect.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dialect. Accessed 5 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dialect
noun
di·a·lect
ˈdī-ə-ˌlekt
1
: a regional variety of a language differing from the standard language
2
: a variety of a language used by the members of a particular group or class
peasant dialect
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