Definition of DIALECT (original) (raw)
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
c
: a variety of a language used by the members of a group
such dialects as politics and advertising—
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
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Director Brady Corbet denied the allegations, saying that stars Adrian Brody and Felicity Jones worked for months with a dialect coach to perfect their characters’ Hungarian accents, and that only the Hungarian portions of the film were adjusted manually using Respeecher technology. —Zoe G. Phillips, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Feb. 2025 In his interview with Red Shark News, Jancsó said AI was used to tweak certain parts of the Hungarian dialect spoken by stars Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones in The Brutalist for the sake of accuracy. —Tim Lammers, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025 TikTok took that ecosystem even farther, allowing India’s millions of regional dialect speakers to share content and create digital communities. —Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 18 Jan. 2025 Racial slurs and offensive dialect were used liberally. —Joshua Barone, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for dialect 
Word History
Etymology
Middle French dialecte, from Latin dialectus, from Greek dialektos conversation, dialect, from dialegesthai to converse — more at dialogue
First Known Use
1566, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Time Traveler
The first known use of dialect was in 1566
Dictionary Entries Near dialect
Cite this Entry
“Dialect.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dialect. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
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Last Updated: 13 Feb 2025 - Updated example sentences
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