Meaning

(countable) A body of words, and set of methods of combining them (called a grammar), understood by a community and used as a form of communication..

Definitions by Sense

1. (countable) A body of words, and set of methods of combining them (called a grammar), understood by a community and used as a form of communication.
2. (uncountable) The ability to communicate using words.
3. (uncountable) A sublanguage: the slang of a particular community or jargon of a particular specialist field.
4. (uncountable) The specific wording or style of a text, such as a law or a contract.
5. (countable, uncountable, figurative) The expression of thought (the communication of meaning) in a specified way; that which communicates something, as language does.
6. (countable, uncountable) A body of sounds, signs or signals by which animals communicate, and by which plants are sometimes also thought to communicate.
7. (computing, countable) A computer language; a machine language.
8. (uncountable) A manner of expression.

Example Sentences

The English and German languages are both members of the West Germanic language family.

Deaf and mute people communicate using sign language.

He appears, and gives his advice, accompanied by a stone, which, by being put into the mouth, endows its possessor with the gift of all languages.

Hence the natural language of the mute is, in schools of this class, suppressed as soon and as far as possible, and its existence as a language, capable of being made the reliable and precise vehicle for the widest range of thought, is ignored.

No language could express his rage and despair.

Mr. Darko, generally acknowledged to be the last surviving member of the Ofo Tribe, was also the last remaining speaker of the tribe's language.

Many of us have entertained the idea of expanding our horizons. Learning a foreign language is an obvious option. It’s one that I would personally endorse: My individual circumstances were such that, by the age of 12, I could speak German, Greek and English, so languages became my passion and my hobby.

Muksin specifically mentioned 11 extinct indigenous languages, such as Tandia and Mawes in West Papua and Papua, along with Kajeli, Piru, Moksela, Palumata, Ternateno, Hukumina, Hoti, Serua, and Nila in different areas of Maluku.

Word Forms

• languages
• languaging
• languaged

Synonyms for language

Related Words

When Should You Use Language?

Use language when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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