argot
Americannoun
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argots
plural
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a specialized idiomatic vocabulary peculiar to a particular class or group of people, especially that of an underworld group, devised for private communication and identification.
a Restoration play rich in thieves' argot.
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the special vocabulary and idiom of a particular profession or social group.
sociologists' argot.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of argot
1855–60; < French, noun derivative of argoter to quarrel, derivative Latin ergō ergo with v. suffix -oter
Explanation
Argot is language particular to a specific group. It can mean a kind of slang, a technical language or a code. In high school, only those who spend their time studying computer manuals could understand the argot of the computer lab kids. The word argot was originally used to describe the slang of thieves and rogues, who spoke in sneaky ways that the upright citizen couldn’t understand. We can also use argot to describe less criminal kinds of vocabularies. Any specialized practice can create an argot: boxers talk of bodyshots and jabs, just as grammar teachers complain of split infinitives and dangling participles.
Vocabulary lists containing argot
Vivacious Vernacular: Words About Slang
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Hidden Figures
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Challenge, List 11
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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.
See Examples For:
In the argot of the day, Flynn faced “morals charges” carrying a possible five-year prison term.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
That means seeking them out where they are and speaking in their argot.
From New York Times ● Feb. 13, 2024
Characters speak in modern slang, Shakespearean verse, ’80s pop lyrics and that timeless argot of clumsy melodrama.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2022
Regardless of the language, the United Nations has its own argot, too.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 26, 2022
Every human pastime—music, cooking, sports, art, theoretical physics—develops an argot to spare its enthusiasts from having to say or type a long-winded description every time they refer to a familiar concept in each other’s company.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Melding the argots of Silicon Valley and self-care, Joyous delivers treatment primarily by text message, replete with exclamation points and emojis.
From New York Times ● Feb. 20, 2023
Here are some argots peculiar to their groups.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 8, 2016
Youth slang is one of the most consistently refreshing of argots.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 8, 2016
Include argots – the characteristic language of a particular group – and that number climbs ginormously.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 8, 2016
Paris he knew as you and I know the palms of our hands, and he could converse with the precision of the native-born in any one of the city's several odd argots.
From The Lone Wolf A Melodrama by Louis Joseph Vance
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.
