Spanish
Americanadjective
noun
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the Spanish people collectively.
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a Romance language, the language of Spain, standard also in most of Latin America except Brazil. Sp, Sp.
noun
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the official language of Spain, Mexico, and most countries of South and Central America except Brazil: also spoken in Africa, the Far East, and elsewhere. It is the native language of approximately 200 million people throughout the world. Spanish is an Indo-European language belonging to the Romance group
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(functioning as plural) Spaniards collectively
adjective
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of or relating to the Spanish language or its speakers
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of or relating to Spain or Spaniards
Usage
Plural word for Spanish The plural form of Spanish can be Spanishes. This is used to refer to different varieties of the Spanish language, as in The Spanishes of Spain and Mexico are quite different. Phrases like varieties of Spanish and Spanish dialects are probably more commonly used to refer to multiple versions of the language, but the plural Spanishes is perfectly acceptable.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of Spanish
Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; see origin at Spain, -ish 1
Compare meaning
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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.
Just a few months later, Ronaldo mimicked the celebration when he scored in the Spanish Super Cup at Barcelona.
From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday distanced himself from an alleged plot to sabotage investigations into his entourage and Socialist party that has intensified pressure on a government already beset by legal woes.
From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026
His polyglot is a mixture of French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Latin and Greek, which is how these passages appear in the diary.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
Sales at the Spanish fashion retailer—which houses Zara, Massimo Dutti and Bershka—rose 11.5% compared with the prior year.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
“We’re going to Chihuahua,” I lied in perfect Spanish, a task that was not difficult, since Spanish was our first language.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
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.
