dialect
Americannoun
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Linguistics. a variety of a language that is distinguished from other varieties of the same language by features of phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, and by its use by a group of speakers who are set off from others geographically or socially.
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a provincial, rural, or socially distinct variety of a language that differs from the standard language, especially when considered as substandard.
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a special variety of a language.
The literary dialect is usually taken as the standard language.
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a language considered as one of a group that have a common ancestor.
Persian, Latin, and English are Indo-European dialects.
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jargon or cant.
noun
Synonym Usage
See language.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of dialect
First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin dialectus, from Greek diálektos “discourse, language, dialect,” equivalent to dialég(esthai) “to converse” ( dia- “through, between” + légein “to speak”) + -tos verbal adjective suffix; see origin at dia-
Explanation
If the language you speak in your region is different in vocabulary, grammar and accent than the main form of the language, you speak a dialect. If your cousin in rural Arkansas can't understand your jokes, blame it on differences in dialect. Both an accent and a dialect contain variations in pronunciation from the standard form of a language. When you speak a dialect, however, you also use different words and grammar, sometimes to such a degree that speakers of the dialect and the standard form of the language have a hard time understanding each other.
Vocabulary lists containing dialect
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Language and Grammar - Introductory
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Vivacious Vernacular: Words About Slang
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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:
Faizi said "tasks have been divided between men and women" for generations in the Parun Valley, where residents speak their own dialect.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
The discussion looks set to continue, after two lawmakers said they had asked authorities about screening movies in their original dialect.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
He chose the name "Ossick Lass," using local dialect meaning "Urswick girl."
From Science Daily ● May 20, 2026
Are the Lomans meant to be Irish immigrants or is that a Boston dialect that is being affected when the cartoonish New Yorkese takes a breather?
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026
Although he didn’t know the Bernese dialect, his German was fluent enough to be understood easily, and since it was the U.S. embassy, everybody spoke English anyway.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Quebeckers accused him, among other things, of “glottophobia”—prejudice against dialects or accents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
The film has inadvertently sparked a debate over the government's long-standing push for Chinese Singaporeans to speak Mandarin instead of other languages, or what they call dialects, from China.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
In a post on Facebook, opposition MP Dennis Tan hailed dialects as "the living, breathing repositories of our forefathers' journeys, customs, and identity".
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
Ms. Fridland cites scholars who suggest its origins can be found in the nonrhotic West African dialects brought to the U.S. by enslaved people.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
I had read with awe how the Communists had sent phonetic experts into the vast regions of Russia to listen to the stammering dialects of peoples oppressed for centuries by the czars.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
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.
