linguistics
Americannoun
-
linguistics
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of linguistics
First recorded in 1850–55; see origin at linguistic, -ics
Explanation
Linguistics is the formal study of language. If you like figuring out how words are formed and how they express meaning, you might enjoy studying the science of linguistics. Academics use the term linguistics to describe the science of language. Linguistics includes a broad range of topics ranging from how people learn languages to how phrases and sentences are formed. Remember that linguistics is a plural noun: although it takes a singular verb, it always has an “s” at the end. If you drop the “s” you get a different word, the adjective linguistic, which means "related to language."
Vocabulary lists containing linguistics
Write Makes Might: Words About Written Language
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Booked
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"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 23
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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.
Her adoptive parent, Dr. Ilene Andrews, is a linguistics expert and Kong researcher, played by Rebecca Hall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
"It's a very strategic thing to do", says Dr. Jim Ureel, senior lecturer in applied linguistics at the University of Antwerp.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
The resulting paper includes 58 authors from multiple fields, including anthropology, biology, and linguistics.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 20, 2026
Mr. Troupis’s legal team hired a forensic linguistics expert from Georgetown who compared the document to previous writings of Judges Hyland and Remington.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
At the University of Washington and later at Seattle University, he immersed himself in anthropology, history, philosophy, and linguistics, accumulating hundreds of credit hours without collecting a degree.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
