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
Yee was married to a Syrian woman and turned to Al-Halabi for help with dialect.
—Tamara Audi, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024
There are over 7,100 languages worldwide, along with numerous dialects, evolving slang and diverse writing and speech styles.
—Alok Kulkarni, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
While news bulletins are in classical Syriac, cultural programs are in a colloquial dialect.
—Jules Struck, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Feb. 2024
The Academy also made minor tweaks to its definition of what qualifies for the singer-songwriter field (60 percent of tracks must be in Spanish, Portuguese, or other native dialect) and to the long-form video category, reducing the length of a film from 20 minutes to 12.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2024
It was conducted online and over the phone Dec. 4-11 in languages English, the Chinese dialects of Mandarin and Cantonese, Vietnamese and Korean.
—Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 2 Feb. 2024
The San Diego team was reportedly focused on Siri use in Hebrew, English, multiple dialects of Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and French.
—Natallie Rocha, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Jan. 2024
The San Diego employees focused on Siri use in Hebrew, English, multiple dialects of Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and French.
—Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 15 Jan. 2024
Many sperm whale dialects appear to contain a social-marker coda.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 24 Feb. 2024
Tamara Audi, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024
There are over 7,100 languages worldwide, along with numerous dialects, evolving slang and diverse writing and speech styles.
—Alok Kulkarni, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
While news bulletins are in classical Syriac, cultural programs are in a colloquial dialect.
—Jules Struck, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Feb. 2024
The Academy also made minor tweaks to its definition of what qualifies for the singer-songwriter field (60 percent of tracks must be in Spanish, Portuguese, or other native dialect) and to the long-form video category, reducing the length of a film from 20 minutes to 12.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2024
It was conducted online and over the phone Dec. 4-11 in languages English, the Chinese dialects of Mandarin and Cantonese, Vietnamese and Korean.
—Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 2 Feb. 2024
The San Diego team was reportedly focused on Siri use in Hebrew, English, multiple dialects of Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and French.
—Natallie Rocha, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Jan. 2024
The San Diego employees focused on Siri use in Hebrew, English, multiple dialects of Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and French.
—Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 15 Jan. 2024
Many sperm whale dialects appear to contain a social-marker coda.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 24 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dialect.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Phrases Containing dialect
Dictionary Entries Near dialect
Cite this Entry
“Dialect.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dialect. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids 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
More from Merriam-Webster on dialect
Nglish: Translation of dialect for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of dialect for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about dialect
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