first language
Britishnoun
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Some were less comfortable with the possibility of false positives, since there are often autistic people, or users whose first language isn’t English, whose writing styles are stigmatized as A.I.-like.
From Slate • Apr. 1, 2026
Colleagues who speak a number of different languages, including French, Italian, Arabic and Urdu, can help with making calls when English isn't a person's first language.
From BBC • Feb. 21, 2026
The viewer snaps back to reality and remembers that, like Foster, Lilian is American, and her first language is English.
From Salon • Jan. 18, 2026
Even today, "for people who have German as a first language, it's fairly easy to understand," said 66-year-old retiree and festival attendee Sabine Lioy.
From Barron's • Oct. 26, 2025
“We’re going to Chihuahua,” I lied in perfect Spanish, a task that was not difficult, since Spanish was our first language.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
