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.
It was her first language, and Natalie sometimes found herself falling back on it when she was frightened or confused.
From Literature
The viewer snaps back to reality and remembers that, like Foster, Lilian is American, and her first language is English.
From Salon
Pupils are recorded as having English as a "first language", or as an "additional language" in a number of other categories - including being "competent" or "fluent".
From BBC
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
The neighborhood around MacArthur Park is made up predominantly of working-class, low-income tenants who speak Spanish as their first language.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
