lingo

noun

lin·​go ˈliŋ-(ˌ)gō 

plural lingos or lingoes

: strange or incomprehensible language or speech: such as

a

: a foreign language

It can be hard to travel in a foreign country if you don't speak the lingo.

b

: the special vocabulary of a particular field of interest

The book has a lot of computer lingo.

c

: language characteristic of an individual

He has his own lingo … and at the top of each shift, he delivers a monologue that sets the table for his show.

—Tim Sullivan

Synonyms

• language
• mother tongue
• speech
• tongue
• vocabulary

Examples of lingo in a Sentence

It can be hard to travel in a foreign country if you don't speak the lingo.

The book has a lot of computer lingo that I don't understand.

Recent Examples on the Web

Kopelman was known as a shrewd, hard-nosed businessman and savvy marketer with a sense of humor who endeared himself to the industry with his clever takes on the standards of marketing lingo and his uncanny impersonations of department store figures. —Lisa Lockwood, WWD, 8 Oct. 2024

That the World—Shaker lingo for non-Shakers—knows so little about gift drawings today is no shock; more surprising is that the Shakers seem not to have known much else. —Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024

Most of the Culver Cup finalists have some sort of filmmaking background or education, which has clearly given them a leg up in terms of the technical processes and general lingo involved in creation. —Marah Eakin, WIRED, 17 Oct. 2024

There is a guide to the scoring system; a look at players’ pre-match self-care rituals; a list of tennis lingo; and the players’ favorite shops on and off the Wimbledon grounds. —Hikmat Mohammed, WWD, 4 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

probably from Lingua Franca, language, tongue, from Occitan, from Latin lingua — more at tongue

First Known Use

1659, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

lingo

noun

lin·​go ˈliŋ-gō 

plural lingoes

: language that is strange or hard to understand