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
Jones and Brody learned Hungarian and worked with a dialect coach for the movie.
—Carole Horst, Variety, 17 Dec. 2024
Turns out, dat good ole dialect is a put-on: James speaks like a professor.
—Rachel Flynn, People.com, 3 Dec. 2024
He’s been working with a vocal coach, a guitar teacher, a dialect coach, a movement coach, even a harmonica guy.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2024
In truth, this ambivalence existed for Jacob, too, who worried that the standardization of German in schools might downgrade dialects and the very folk speech that their lives had been devoted to capturing.
—Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dialect 
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Carole Horst, Variety, 17 Dec. 2024
Turns out, dat good ole dialect is a put-on: James speaks like a professor.
—Rachel Flynn, People.com, 3 Dec. 2024
He’s been working with a vocal coach, a guitar teacher, a dialect coach, a movement coach, even a harmonica guy.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2024
In truth, this ambivalence existed for Jacob, too, who worried that the standardization of German in schools might downgrade dialects and the very folk speech that their lives had been devoted to capturing.
—Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dialect
Dictionary Entries Near dialect
Cite this Entry
“Dialect.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dialect. Accessed 26 Dec. 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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