- a variation of lingoe.
lingo
1 Americannoun
-
lingoes
plural
-
the language and speech, especially the jargon, slang, or argot, of a particular field, group, or individual.
gamblers' lingo.
-
language or speech, especially if strange or foreign.
noun
-
lingoes
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lingo
1650–60; apparently alteration of lingua (franca); compare Polari lingo “language”
Explanation
Lingo is a way of speaking that's shared by a particular group of people — it's their own personal slang or jargon. You might observe International Talk Like a Pirate Day by trying to speak only pirate lingo. Sometimes people refer to the language or dialect spoken in a place as its lingo: "I'd love to visit Paris, but I don't speak the lingo." You're more likely to hear lingo in the context of the words and phrases one group understands, but that outsiders might not, like computer lingo or English major lingo, or musician's lingo. Lingo shares a Latin root, lingua, or "tongue," with words like language and linguist.
Vocabulary lists containing lingo
Vivacious Vernacular: Words About Slang
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Wink
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Merle Haggard (1937-2016) Tribute List
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
"Why are we getting into the lingo of Gen Z?" she asked.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
While you might know the lingo that describes what’s happening on the field, the salary-cap gain has a vocabulary all its own.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Your client base, meanwhile, is evergreen — or, to employ corporate lingo, “sticky.”
From MarketWatch ● May 20, 2026
The “gig economy” entered the lingo in 2009, as increasing numbers of people tried to cobble two or more part-time, no-benefit “gigs” into a living wage.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
And if our readers do know the lingo, we might be insulting their intelligence by spelling it out.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
"I been listenin' good, an' I hear 'em jabber, jabber, jabber all dey fanciful lingoes, but I 'ain't heern nair one say polly fronsay, an' yit I know dats de riverend book French."
From Solomon Crow's Christmas Pockets and Other Tales by Ruth McEnery Stuart
That the requisite number of individuals well acquainted with some of the outlandish lingoes which had to be grappled with proved to be forthcoming, is a matter of surprise and a subject for congratulation.
From Experiences of a Dug-out, 1914-1918 by Sir C. E. (Charles Edward) Callwell
"How do I know any such thing—that is, for a certainty—while you keep cruising amongst so many lingoes, as Tom there says?"
From Tom Cringle's Log by Michael Scott
This is the history of many such lingoes; but unfortunately Owen’s opinion, even if it be legendary, will not prove that the Painted People spoke the Shelta tongue.
From The Gypsies by Charles Godfrey Leland
"Gosh, he can nearly keep still in two lingoes," thought Mr. Cassidy.
From Hopalong Cassidy's Rustler Round-Up by Clarence Edward Mulford
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.
