parlance

noun

Definition of parlancenext
as in terminology
formal the manner of speech used by a particular group of people In military parlance, "bug out" means "to retreat." They spoke the parlance of those in the technology industry.

Related 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 parlance In OpenAI's current parlance, a plugin is a bundle of apps, instructions, role-specific skills, and recurring workflows rather than an external application or a folder of sample prompts. — Ray Ravaglia, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026 Enough riders sagged ― RAGBRAI parlance for giving up riding and seeking a lift ― that the fleet of support-and-gear vans, or SAG wagons, could not accommodate them all on the second day. — Nick El Hajj, Des Moines Register, 25 July 2026 Had Marsh taken that step — known in legal parlance as striking Basabe’s affirmative defenses — the jury would have only had to determine monetary damages against Basabe on each count, skipping the step of deciding whether to hold Basabe liable. — Aaron Leibowitz, Miami Herald, 15 July 2026 This season, Cardi B was there right on time—in fashion parlance, that’s only half an hour late. — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 8 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for parlance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for parlance
  1. terminology
  2. dialect
  3. vernacular
  4. idiom
  5. slang
  6. language
Noun
  • For specialized work, Voibe includes Developer Mode and custom vocabulary for coding and technical terminology.
    — StackCommerce Team, PC Magazine, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Across the country, states use different terminology to refer to these facilities.
    — Paige Pfleger, ProPublica, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of terminology
Noun
  • 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
  • Italy is a unique country where every city has its own identity, architecture, traditions, flavors, dialects and even different ways of life.
    — Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of dialect
Noun
  • Kuechly needs to explain some football vernacular a little more.
    — Andrew Marchand, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Over Taiwanese breakfast, Claira Janover, a lively 28-year-old working for the AI fashion start-up Phia, is explaining the latest vernacular from Wasia.
    — E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of vernacular
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
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 administration’s language would establish a range of mandatory minimum sentences based on the amount of loss involved in fraud schemes, according to the document.
    — Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 6 Oct. 2026
  • In 2025, the first chime of bells from a mountain pavilion at dawn, accompanied by a gentle morning greeting, creates a space where each collection is experienced independently and explores the versatile expressions of Songmont’s design language.
    — Footwear News, Footwear News, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of language

Browse Nearby Words

parkways
parlance
parlances
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Parlance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/parlance. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All