1
a
: a native or inhabitant of Germany
b
: a person of German descent
c
: one whose native language is German and who is a native of a country other than Germany
2
a
: the Germanic language spoken mainly in Germany, Austria, and parts of Switzerland
b
: the literary and official language of Germany
3
: a member of any of the Germanic peoples inhabiting western Europe in Roman times
4
often not capitalized
a
: a dance consisting of intricate figures that are improvised and intermingled with waltzes
b
chiefly Midland US
: a dancing party
specifically
: one at which the german is danced
: of, relating to, or characteristic of Germany, the Germans, or German
ger·man
ˈjər-mən 
: having the same parents or the same grandparents on either the maternal or paternal side
—usually used after the noun which it modifies and joined to it by a hyphen
brother-german
cousin-german
obsolete
: a near relative
Examples of German in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2024
The German helped return the team to its winning ways during their eleven seasons together (1996 to 2006) and became the sport’s biggest star in the process, claiming five titles in a row between 2000 and 2004.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 21 Oct. 2024
Jury won't see Delphi suspect sketches Richard Allen’s attorneys filed a motion arguing sketches released in the aftermath of the 2017 killings of teenagers Liberty German and Abigail Williams should be shown to jurors.
—Jordan Smith, The Indianapolis Star, 19 Oct. 2024
Richard Allen, 52, is charged with two counts of murder and two counts of murder while committing or attempting to commit kidnapping in the February 2017 deaths of Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, in the small town of Delphi.
—Louis Casiano, Fox News, 19 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for German 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Ava is also a polyglot and able to conduct interviews in English, Spanish, French and German.
—Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2024
The German helped return the team to its winning ways during their eleven seasons together (1996 to 2006) and became the sport’s biggest star in the process, claiming five titles in a row between 2000 and 2004.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 21 Oct. 2024
Jury won't see Delphi suspect sketches Richard Allen’s attorneys filed a motion arguing sketches released in the aftermath of the 2017 killings of teenagers Liberty German and Abigail Williams should be shown to jurors.
—Jordan Smith, The Indianapolis Star, 19 Oct. 2024
Richard Allen, 52, is charged with two counts of murder and two counts of murder while committing or attempting to commit kidnapping in the February 2017 deaths of Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, in the small town of Delphi.
—Louis Casiano, Fox News, 19 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for German
Dictionary Entries Near German
Cite this Entry
“German.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/German. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share