Word.ws English Dictionary

Duolingo

Duolingo noun: a language learning service or application.

Noun

Duolingo (plural Duolingos)

  1. (colloquial) A language learning service or application.
    • Traditional language teaching has backed away from this a bit - especially at degree level - maybe there's been an element of elitism, snobbishness about the Duolingos and the Babbels that they're not for us, but we're becoming very aware of the modern way students want to learn.2020 January 2, Carys Betteley, quoting Dr. Baron, “Language apps: Can phones replace classrooms?”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 05 Dec 2020
    • I speak languages other than English. Unfortunately, none of those are Gaelic (I am trying to learn through a Duolingo app, but it is very slow going). So, I tried to keep the Gaelic to a minimum and even the accents as well because I did not want to massacre a beautiful language with my ineptitude.2020, Elina Emerald, “Author Notes”, in Betrothed to the Beast (Reformed Rogues), FSES Taito, →ISBN, unnumbered page
  2. (colloquial) A website, service or application that gamifies or simplifies learning, such as through having convenient, guided lessons and an informal (laidback) educational environment.
    • Again, hardly a reason to purchase premium at this point. The approach does seem logical, however – if it really aims to be the Duolingo of programming, then it makes sense to present the same concepts you’re already familiar with in another language you’re not familiar with.2017 August 17, Bruno Skvorc, “Duolingo for PHP – How Much PHP Can Apps like Mimo Teach?”, in SitePoint, archived from the original on 06 Feb 2025
    • Melodics, the music practice app that’s been described as the Duolingo of music learning, is now available on iPad for all subscribers.2019 December 5, Will Betts, “Melodics music practice app comes to iPad”, in MusicTech, BandLab Technologies, archived from the original on 16 May 2026
  3. (Internet, colloquial, uncommon) A lesson on Duolingo.
    • I DIDN'T DO MY DAILY DUOLINGO YDAY. S H I T2015 October 9, @hollie_bainton, Twitter
    • Because when I wake up in the morning and I see that my daughter is awake so I prepared the lunch for my husband, lunch box, and I get here in my dining room and I started to do it. Or if I am waiting here maybe or waiting in my car, I am doing my Duolingo.2020, Alexandra Babino, Mary Amanda Stewart, quoting Carmen Elvira, Radicalizing Literacies and Languaging: A Framework Toward Dismantling the Mono-Mainstream Assumption, Springer International...
  4. (Internet, colloquial, rare) A language learning course on Duolingo.
    • Is doing two Duolingos at once, say Spanish and Russian, a bad idea?

Examples of Duolingo in a sentence

  • The Duolingos of the world are great, but it's proven that people remember new words easier when they are tied to a good story, article, song, or even memory.2021 November 12, Chelsea B, “COP26 Verbs and Nouns in Swedish”, in Swedish Language Blog, Transparent Language Online, archived from the...
  • no girl i was doing the duolingo^([sic]) DURING the concert2021 December 4, @nycnamjoon, Twitter:
  • This evening my Duolingo has: "there will be a by-election" and "will there be an election next year?"2023 June 10, @JulieGittoes, Twitter:

Forms of Duolingo

pluralDuolingos

Origin of Duolingo

All senses ultimately from Duolingo, a language learning app owned by the American educational technology company of the same name; from duo- (“two”) + lingo (“language”). The first two senses formed via genericized trademark.

Questions about Duolingo

What does Duolingo mean?
Duolingo means a language learning service or application.
How do you use Duolingo in a sentence?
The Duolingos of the world are great, but it's proven that people remember new words easier when they are tied to a good story, article, song, or even memory.
What part of speech is Duolingo?
Duolingo is a noun.
What is the plural of Duolingo?
The plural of Duolingo is Duolingos.

Words near Duolingo in the dictionary

  1. duoethnographically
  2. duoethnography
  3. duograph
  4. duographs
  5. duokangjiasu
  6. Duolingo
  7. Duolingos
  8. duoliteral
  9. duolocal
  10. duolocality
  11. duolog

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Duolingo (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-Duolingo.ogg.

Cite this entry: “Duolingo.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/duolingo. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.