as in language
the stock of words, pronunciation, and grammar used by a people as their basic means of communication
although the anthropologist could speak the local language fairly well, she was always glad to find someone who shared her mother tongue
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of mother tongue
How could someone who’d left China in fifth grade have kept up her mother tongue so well?
—
Shuang Xuetao, The New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2024
Help with that one comes from Emery and his coaching staff, who have been asked by Onana to address him in their mother tongue.
—Jacob Tanswell, The Athletic, 20 Aug. 2024
This suggested, startlingly, that birds could learn a literal mother tongue while still in ovo.
—Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024
The font on the album cover is a play on the Geʽez script used in Amharic, her mother tongue.
—Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 20 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mother tongue 
Shuang Xuetao, The New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2024
Help with that one comes from Emery and his coaching staff, who have been asked by Onana to address him in their mother tongue.
—Jacob Tanswell, The Athletic, 20 Aug. 2024
This suggested, startlingly, that birds could learn a literal mother tongue while still in ovo.
—Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024
The font on the album cover is a play on the Geʽez script used in Amharic, her mother tongue.
—Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 20 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mother tongue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mother tongue
Noun
-
According to Quartz, those incidents included the airline removing a passenger for wearing a crop top and another wearing clothing with explicit language.—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
27 Jan. 2025
-
Frank’s book, translated into more than 70 languages with over 30 million copies sold so far, reads like a nonfiction play at times.—
David G. Allan,
CNN,
27 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Their project for this week was to make Zoom presentations on music vocabulary.—
Daniel Miller,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Jan. 2025
-
As sidekicks, Dreux and Alyssa share a value system, vocabulary and hearty appreciation for fun.—
Natalia Winkelman,
New York Times,
16 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
The watch is powered by the in-house caliber 115, a hand-wound movement that boasts a 10-day power reserve and a unique non-linear power reserve indicator shaped like a snake's tongue.—
Bhanu Chopra,
Forbes,
17 Jan. 2025
-
Tiafoe attended the game with his girlfriend Ayan Broomfield, who posted a TikTok from the outing with video of the two couples posing together, and one of Swift playfully sticking out her tongue.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
People.com,
9 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
The body of water first showed up on European maps in the 1500s and has had at least 32 names in different languages and dialects throughout the years.—
Kevin Lynn,
Newsweek,
7 Jan. 2025
-
Much of the driving dialogue is in Irish, and most importantly, in the Ulster dialect.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
29 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
The Maze Runner actor sloughs off Roman’s moody persona, replacing that twin’s abrasive bluntness and struggle with idioms with the other’s quick wit and seductive charm.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
The Hollywood Reporter,
24 Jan. 2025
-
For instance, the grammar and translation method has been modernized to help students grasp complex concepts like abstract words, idioms and metaphors.—
Geoffrey Alphonso,
Forbes,
3 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near mother tongue
Cite this Entry
“Mother tongue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mother%20tongue. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share