language model
noun
plural language models
: a mathematical model (see model entry 1 sense 3) that analyzes a corpus of text in order to accurately represent the relationships between words
We have tremendous freedom to put words in any order we like. The computer has to have some kind of handle, a language model. It has to figure how likely any particular word is to pop up at any time.—
Robert Mercer, quoted in Chicago Tribune
Robert Mercer, quoted in Chicago Tribune
also
: software that uses a language model to generate text (such as responses to queries or prompts)
For example, given the task of analyzing the sentiment of the sentence 'I missed the bus today,' researchers could continue with the prompt 'I felt so [blank]' and ask a language model to fill in the blank with an emotion. —Kyle Wiggers
see also large language model
Kyle Wiggers Examples of language model in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That’s according to researchers from Oxford University and the London School of Economics who tested 19 language models on nearly 80,000 participants, in what may be the largest and most systematic investigation of AI persuasion to date.
—Parmy Olson, Twin Cities, 21 Dec. 2025
Barrels of digital ink have been spilled on the degree to which language models show signs of intelligence.
—Michael Moyer, Quanta Magazine, 16 Dec. 2025
Dante Courey says the language model has become a personal tutor.
—Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025
At the same time, growth in subscription value has rocketed at Anthropic and Perplexity—although both of their large-language models have a smaller number of customers, Deutsche Bank’s data shows.
—Jim Edwards, Fortune, 3 Dec. 2025
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Parmy Olson, Twin Cities, 21 Dec. 2025
Barrels of digital ink have been spilled on the degree to which language models show signs of intelligence.
—Michael Moyer, Quanta Magazine, 16 Dec. 2025
Dante Courey says the language model has become a personal tutor.
—Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025
At the same time, growth in subscription value has rocketed at Anthropic and Perplexity—although both of their large-language models have a smaller number of customers, Deutsche Bank’s data shows.
—Jim Edwards, Fortune, 3 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for language model
Cite this Entry
“Language model.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/language%20model. Accessed 31 Dec. 2025.
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