natural language

noun

plural natural languages
1
: a language (such as English, Spanish, or Samoan) that is the native speech of a people
In its pure meaning, a natural language is a spoken language, such as English or German.Robert A. Edmunds
In a natural language like English or French, asserting some proposition puts you at risk of being right or wrong.Jared Woodard
2
: the language of ordinary speaking and writing
often used before another noun
This framework will enable developers to integrate A.I. models into their apps, facilitating capabilities such as image generation, text creation and natural language search.Victor Dey
… uses artificial intelligence to understand and respond to natural language queries.Isaiah Murtaugh

Examples of natural language in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The model uses a deep-learning natural language processing architecture to extract causal relationships between products, services, and their impacts from the scientific literature, and consolidates this information with economic data to produce quantitative estimates of corporate net impact. Time Staff, Time, 12 May 2026 DeepMind’s research has been central to advances in generative AI and natural language processing within Google’s AI ecosystem. Alison Eldridge, Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 May 2026 Originating from the natural language processing technology at the heart of ChatGPT and other large language models, a token is either a group of words, a word, or part of a word. Nisha Talagala, Forbes.com, 9 May 2026 The scientists also found that accuracy increased when the players communicated with snippets of code rather than natural language. Peter Hall, Scientific American, 8 May 2026 Chatbots and agents leverage natural language processing and machine learning to engage with customers in a smooth and responsive manner, and have become an integral part of a modern support system. Ethan Stone, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026 The goal is to enable engineers to use natural language to describe changes or ask questions about a chip. Will Knight, Wired News, 15 Apr. 2026 Vibe coding also may signal a shift that could make natural language a more viable tool for developing some computer programs. Chetan Jaiswal, The Conversation, 4 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1570, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of natural language was in 1570

Cite this Entry

“Natural language.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/natural%20language. Accessed 21 May. 2026.

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