lingo
noun
lin·go
ˈliŋ-(ˌ)gō 
plural lingos or lingoes
: strange or incomprehensible language or speech: such as
a
: a foreign language
It can be hard to travel in a foreign country if you don't speak the lingo.
b
: the special vocabulary of a particular field of interest
The book has a lot of computer lingo.
c
: language characteristic of an individual
He has his own lingo … and at the top of each shift, he delivers a monologue that sets the table for his show.—
Tim Sullivan
Tim Sullivan
Examples of lingo in a Sentence
It can be hard to travel in a foreign country if you don't speak the lingo.
The book has a lot of computer lingo that I don't understand.
Recent Examples on the Web
Patrick was attending as an angel — square-dancing lingo for a volunteer who teaches the newbies all the right steps — and Geo was new.
—The Editors, Curbed, 2 Dec. 2024
By speaking the decision-risk lingo of the military, Goodman convinced the generals to consider climate change as a risk with higher probability and potentially higher consequences as well.
—Saleem H. Ali, Forbes, 23 Nov. 2024
Their inability to drop the lingo of the college campus and take working-class voters' concerns seriously was his gain, and former—and future—President Donald Trump will remain the main character in our collective political dramas throughout his second term in office.
—Newsweek Staff, Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2024
Kopelman was known as a shrewd, hard-nosed businessman and savvy marketer with a sense of humor who endeared himself to the industry with his clever takes on the standards of marketing lingo and his uncanny impersonations of department store figures.
—Lisa Lockwood, WWD, 8 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for lingo 
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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The Editors, Curbed, 2 Dec. 2024
By speaking the decision-risk lingo of the military, Goodman convinced the generals to consider climate change as a risk with higher probability and potentially higher consequences as well.
—Saleem H. Ali, Forbes, 23 Nov. 2024
Their inability to drop the lingo of the college campus and take working-class voters' concerns seriously was his gain, and former—and future—President Donald Trump will remain the main character in our collective political dramas throughout his second term in office.
—Newsweek Staff, Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2024
Kopelman was known as a shrewd, hard-nosed businessman and savvy marketer with a sense of humor who endeared himself to the industry with his clever takes on the standards of marketing lingo and his uncanny impersonations of department store figures.
—Lisa Lockwood, WWD, 8 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for lingo
Dictionary Entries Near lingo
Cite this Entry
“Lingo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lingo. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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