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American Sign Language
American Sign Languagenouna visual-gesture language, having its own semantic and syntactic structure, used by deaf people in the U.S. and English-speaking parts of Canada. ASL
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American sign language
American Sign Language
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of American Sign Language
First recorded in 1960–65
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.
The children were thriving, learning American Sign Language and unbothered by their deafness.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
Although a few chimps understand and can communicate using basic American Sign Language, caregivers often have difficulty figuring out the meaning of other behaviors.
From Salon • Jun. 5, 2024
Translation services will be available at the sessions in American Sign Language, Amharic, Cantonese, Spanish and Vietnamese, according to the district.
From Seattle Times • May 16, 2024
His team previously developed a wearable glove capable of translating American Sign Language into English speech in real time to help users of ASL communicate with those who don't know how to sign.
From Science Daily • Mar. 15, 2024
Ever since I met her, we’ve been communicating primarily through American Sign Language.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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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.