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
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Recent Examples of mother tongue
Likewise, most of the world’s approximately 400 million native English speakers had other mother tongues in their families until relatively recently.
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Ross Perlin, The Dial, 14 Nov. 2024
Reading in Spanish seemed to preclude — in some instances more clearly than others — what was still unthinkable: reading in Mixe, our mother tongue.
—Yásnaya Elena A. Gil (tr. Ellen Jones), The Dial, 26 Nov. 2024
In our Romansh language, which is my mother tongue, Igniv means bird's nest, which is perfect for sharing.
—Jennifer Leigh Parker, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
How could someone who’d left China in fifth grade have kept up her mother tongue so well?
—Shuang Xuetao, The New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mother tongue 
Ross Perlin, The Dial, 14 Nov. 2024
Reading in Spanish seemed to preclude — in some instances more clearly than others — what was still unthinkable: reading in Mixe, our mother tongue.
—Yásnaya Elena A. Gil (tr. Ellen Jones), The Dial, 26 Nov. 2024
In our Romansh language, which is my mother tongue, Igniv means bird's nest, which is perfect for sharing.
—Jennifer Leigh Parker, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
How could someone who’d left China in fifth grade have kept up her mother tongue so well?
—Shuang Xuetao, The New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mother tongue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mother tongue
Noun
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According to Quartz, those incidents included the airline removing a passenger for wearing a crop top and another wearing clothing with explicit language.—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
27 Jan. 2025
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Frank’s book, translated into more than 70 languages with over 30 million copies sold so far, reads like a nonfiction play at times.—
David G. Allan,
CNN,
27 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Their project for this week was to make Zoom presentations on music vocabulary.—
Daniel Miller,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Jan. 2025
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As sidekicks, Dreux and Alyssa share a value system, vocabulary and hearty appreciation for fun.—
Natalia Winkelman,
New York Times,
16 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The watch is powered by the in-house caliber 115, a hand-wound movement that boasts a 10-day power reserve and a unique non-linear power reserve indicator shaped like a snake's tongue.—
Bhanu Chopra,
Forbes,
17 Jan. 2025
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Tiafoe attended the game with his girlfriend Ayan Broomfield, who posted a TikTok from the outing with video of the two couples posing together, and one of Swift playfully sticking out her tongue.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
People.com,
9 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The body of water first showed up on European maps in the 1500s and has had at least 32 names in different languages and dialects throughout the years.—
Kevin Lynn,
Newsweek,
7 Jan. 2025
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Much of the driving dialogue is in Irish, and most importantly, in the Ulster dialect.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
29 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The Maze Runner actor sloughs off Roman’s moody persona, replacing that twin’s abrasive bluntness and struggle with idioms with the other’s quick wit and seductive charm.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
The Hollywood Reporter,
24 Jan. 2025
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For instance, the grammar and translation method has been modernized to help students grasp complex concepts like abstract words, idioms and metaphors.—
Geoffrey Alphonso,
Forbes,
3 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near mother tongue
Cite this Entry
“Mother tongue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mother%20tongue. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.
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