bilingual
Americanadjective
-
able to speak two languages with the facility of a native speaker.
-
spoken, written, or containing similar information in two different languages.
a bilingual dictionary; Public notices at the embassy are bilingual.
-
of, involving, or using two languages.
a bilingual community; bilingual schools.
noun
adjective
-
able to speak two languages, esp with fluency
-
written or expressed in two languages
noun
Usage
What does bilingual mean? Bilingual is most commonly used to describe someone who can speak or understand two languages, especially with some level of fluency.It can also be used to describe things that involve or that are written or spoken in two languages, as in These instructions are bilingual—they’re written in English and Spanish.The similar terms trilingual and multilingual are used in the same way, with trilingual indicating three languages and multilingual indicating more than two and especially several languages.The ability to speak two languages or the use of two languages is called bilingualism.Example: Being bilingual is a great advantage for many job seekers.
Other Word Forms
- bilingualism noun
- bilingually adverb
Etymology
Origin of bilingual
1835–45; < Latin bilingu ( is ) ( bi- bi- 1 + lingu-, stem of lingua tongue + -is adj. suffix) + -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But she arrives as a decorated musician who has woven Latin American, blues and soul traditions into nine bilingual albums — including her 2024 Grammy Award-winning acoustic album “X Mí.”
From Los Angeles Times
Shoppers in a Tesco branch in Cornwall were left amused after spotting bilingual signs in Welsh rather than Cornish.
From BBC
The province's president Arno Kompatscher told AFP that place names were bilingual out of "respect for people's sensitivities" in an area with a turbulent history.
From Barron's
Its branches are staffed with bilingual speakers, with Salinas majority Hispanic.
Since 2020 New Directions has been putting out bilingual editions of these poems, with “The Complete Works of Ricardo Reis” being the latest.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
