- a variation of native language.
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’s a really fast-moving show, and if English is not your first language, like for my parents, then it’s quite hard to follow along.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 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
The viewer snaps back to reality and remembers that, like Foster, Lilian is American, and her first language is English.
From Salon • Jan. 18, 2026
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 • Dec. 4, 2025
She taught me English as my first language.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
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.
