native language
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of native language
First recorded in 1425–75 as natife langage
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.
“You hear RM say in the songwriting session, ‘This is not my native language.’
From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026
Because we use our native language daily over decades, these patterns become deeply embedded, making communication smoother and less demanding.
From Science Daily • Feb. 20, 2026
The government, he said, should have allowed Russian speakers to study in their native language.
From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026
Later she racked up hits collaborating with Ozuna, Bad Bunny, J Balvin and others just as her home-base genre of reggaeton ascended to a global phenomenon on its own terms, in its native language.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 1, 2025
“When the sisters ran an orphanage here, some children would sing themselves to sleep, often in their native language, as many were immigrant children.”
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
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.
