lingo

noun

ˈliŋ-(ˌ)gō How to pronounce lingo (audio)
Definition of lingonext
1
as in vocabulary
the stock of words, pronunciation, and grammar used by a people as their basic means of communication medical missionaries struggling to learn the lingo of the African tribe that they were treating

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in terminology
the special terms or expressions of a particular group or field the shorthand medical lingo that the hospital staffers use with one another

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 lingo Competing fairgoers recommended learning from someone skilled in the game's lingo rather than looking up the rules (which the Register did to prepare for this story). — Kate Kealey, Des Moines Register, 15 Aug. 2026 Drawing those links between, say, Washington moves on tariffs or taxes and the cost of a gallon of gas won’t get lost in a cloud of Wall Street lingo. — Mark Joyella, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026 The stone is halo-set on a pavé band—jewelry lingo for having a ring of small white diamonds encircling the stone and covering the band. — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 21 July 2026 Navigating the drapery lingo is like learning a new language. — Heather Bien, Southern Living, 16 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for lingo
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lingo
  1. vocabulary
  2. terminology
  3. language
  4. dialect
  5. tongue
  6. slang
  7. idiom
Noun
  • Together, the works suggest that preserving craft requires more than maintaining its technical vocabulary.
    — Thomas Waller, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Luxury menswear’s customer base and vocabulary were both shifting permanently.
    — Robb Report, Robb Report, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of vocabulary
Noun
  • Titles, descriptions and other metadata for older videos and podcasts may also be revised to reflect the new terminology, while the original recordings, transcripts and captions will remain unchanged.
    — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • That terminology provides a way to identify how a medication is designed without turning the description into a judgment about treatment quality.
    — Emma Clapp, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of terminology
Noun
  • But, unlike Felker and Bryan, the two don’t share a language or approach.
    — Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Brian Romick, the president of Democratic Majority for Israel, put out an issue framework last month in an attempt to move the conversation from the language to the actual policy.
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of language
Noun
  • The conflicts are raw and unresolved, and Churchill forces theatergoers to make up their own minds about the characters’ furious dialect.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Documenting many varieties is a way to not just share the language, but to illustrate how dialects of Pennsylvania Dutch differ and maybe even fill in each other’s gaps.
    — Eythana Miller, The Dial, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of dialect
Noun
  • Toset is more concerned about one that stays put, grows, or becomes increasingly painful—particularly on the side of the tongue.
    — Angela Haupt, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Smoky mezcal and amaro, counterbalanced with sweet almond on the back of the tongue.
    — Amanda Lee Koe, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of tongue
Noun
  • McCaffrey and the 49ers will return to the United States after their win and lesson in Australian slang to play the Miami Dolphins in Week 2.
    — Ryan Canfield OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The script itself is filled with the language of its time and place, including Berliner gutter slang and high-society clichés, casino speech and capitalist jargon, spoken Yiddish and literary German.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of slang
Noun
  • The first Velvet Underground album, the mid-period Beatles, Kinks, and Creedence Clearwater Revival records, with enough time, seem almost like different components to the same idiom.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Cinema is, after all, a language, and Belgian filmmakers come from a country built on the need to understand language as a bridge—between its regions, its people, and its idioms.
    — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of idiom

Browse Nearby Words

lingers
lingo
lingos
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Cite this Entry

“Lingo.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lingo. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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