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

To train o1, OpenAI likely put a language model in the style of GPT-4 through a huge amount of trial and error, asking it to solve many, many problems and then providing feedback on its approaches, for instance. —Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 6 Dec. 2024

Instead, Brisk operates its own licensed language model, ensuring that student data remains within a secure and firewalled environment. —Dan Fitzpatrick, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024

In addition, some people are likely better at judging debates than others — perhaps the same was true of language models? —Stephen Ornes, Quanta Magazine, 8 Nov. 2024

The trick was exploiting a Google invention called transformers to create astoundingly capable language models. —Steven Levy, WIRED, 21 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above