language model

noun

plural language models

: a mathematical model (see model entry 1 sense 3) that analyzes a corpus of text in order to accurately represent the relationships between words

We have tremendous freedom to put words in any order we like. The computer has to have some kind of handle, a language model. It has to figure how likely any particular word is to pop up at any time.

—Robert Mercer, quoted in Chicago Tribune

also : software that uses a language model to generate text (such as responses to queries or prompts)

For example, given the task of analyzing the sentiment of the sentence 'I missed the bus today,' researchers could continue with the prompt 'I felt so [blank]' and ask a language model to fill in the blank with an emotion.

—Kyle Wiggers

see also large language model

Examples of language model in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The o1-preview and R1 AI systems are among the first language models to use large-scale reinforcement learning, a technique that teaches AI not merely to mimic human language by predicting the next word, but to reason through problems using trial and error. —Harry Booth, TIME, 19 Feb. 2025

The Cas enzyme is too long for current protein language models to process. —Ingrid Wickelgren, Quanta Magazine, 5 Feb. 2025

The development of small language models for mobile and wearable devices is advancing rapidly. —Wei Duan, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025

View 3 Images View gallery - 3 images The AI behavior models controlling how robots interact with the physical world haven't been advancing at the crazy pace that GPT-style language models have – but new multiverse 'world simulators' from Nvidia and Google could change that rapidly. —New Atlas, 7 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for language model

• caudal
• caudle
• dawdle
• twaddle
• waddle
• remodel