Standard English

American  

[stan-derd ing-glish, -lish] / ˈstæn dərd ˈɪŋ glɪʃ, -lɪʃ /

noun

1. the English language in its most widely accepted form, adhering to fixed academic norms of spelling, grammar, and usage in written and spoken contexts, and neutralizing nonstandard dialectal variation.

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Etymology

Origin of Standard English

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Standard English

In a study by professor Neil Kirk, most Scottish participants assumed AI-generated Scottish Standard English or Dundonian Scots voices were human.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

This is an artful and convincing reading, and McWhorter carries it out in an impishly forensic manner, proving his thesis that, in some respects, Black English has “more going on” than Standard English.

From The New Yorker ● May 8, 2017

Remember, for many Americans, Standard English is only used in formal settings—business and school, but not home.

From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2014

Grammarians push Standard English at the expense of other forms, he asserts.

From BBC ● May 13, 2013

Single plays, such as Julius Caesar, Merchant of Venice, Macbeth, As You Like It, are edited for class use in Standard English Classics, Lake Classics, and various other school series.

From Outlines of English and American Literature : an Introduction to the Chief Writers of England and America, to the Books They Wrote, and to the Times in Which They Lived by William Joseph Long