Spanish
Americanadjective
noun
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the Spanish people collectively.
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a Romance language, the language of Spain, standard also in most of Latin America except Brazil. Sp, Sp.
noun
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the official language of Spain, Mexico, and most countries of South and Central America except Brazil: also spoken in Africa, the Far East, and elsewhere. It is the native language of approximately 200 million people throughout the world. Spanish is an Indo-European language belonging to the Romance group
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(functioning as plural) Spaniards collectively
adjective
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of or relating to the Spanish language or its speakers
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of or relating to Spain or Spaniards
Usage
Plural word for Spanish The plural form of Spanish can be Spanishes. This is used to refer to different varieties of the Spanish language, as in The Spanishes of Spain and Mexico are quite different. Phrases like varieties of Spanish and Spanish dialects are probably more commonly used to refer to multiple versions of the language, but the plural Spanishes is perfectly acceptable.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Spanish
Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; see origin at Spain, -ish 1
Compare meaning
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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.
While the Spanish conquistadors methodically tried to erase Aztec cultural traditions and language, it didn’t work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
According to Spanish outlet El Mundo,, external Gonzalez has deleted all photos of herself with her wife and their first child, born in January, from her social media accounts since signing for Al Qadsiah.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
“I started making up songs because I wanted to listen to music in Spanish that sounded like my favorite albums in English, which I couldn’t understand.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Meta must respond to teens reporting illegal or offensive content within six hours in at least 90 percent of cases filed in English or Spanish.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
I fall asleep thinking how different this revolutionary song is from Mamá’s Spanish song about the girl trapped in a tower at sea.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
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.
