jargon
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Specialized technical terminology characteristic of a particular subject.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
jahrguhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdʒɑɹɡən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Specialized technical terminology characteristic of a particular subject
A characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves)
uncountable
Speech or language that is incomprehensible or unintelligible; gibberish.
A colorless (or pale yellow or smoky) variety of zircon
verb
To utter jargon; to emit confused or unintelligible sounds.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Specialized technical terminology characteristic of a particular subject
Used this way, jargon is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in technical or specialist writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A pidgin incorporating Chinook and French and English words.
A pidgin incorporating Chinook and French and English words.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “jargon” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.