first language
Britishnoun
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.
She doesn’t feel comfortable speaking Spanish because she doesn’t know how to speak it anymore, even though it was her first language.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026
Some were less comfortable with the possibility of false positives, since there are often autistic people, or users whose first language isn’t English, whose writing styles are stigmatized as A.I.-like.
From Slate • Apr. 1, 2026
Martin Van Buren, the first president to be born a U.S. citizen, spoke Dutch as his first language, as did Sojourner Truth.
From Salon • Feb. 12, 2026
Even today, "for people who have German as a first language, it's fairly easy to understand," said 66-year-old retiree and festival attendee Sabine Lioy.
From Barron's • Oct. 26, 2025
It was her first language, and Natalie sometimes found herself falling back on it when she was frightened or confused.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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.
