# jargon

/ˈdʒɑɹɡən/ (US)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/jargon
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. specialized terminology

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

special words used by a specific group of people, like doctors or lawyers, that are hard for others to understand.

For teachers: the specialized language or terminology used by a particular profession, trade, or group. Uncountable in this sense.

- The manual was full of technical jargon that I couldn't understand.
- The legal team spent hours translating the contract's dense jargon into plain language so the client could understand the risks involved.

Usage: Often used with a negative tone to suggest that the language is unnecessarily difficult.

### 2. unintelligible speech

noun · CEFR C2 · Literary

speech or writing that does not make sense; gibberish.

For teachers: language or speech that is incomprehensible, incoherent, or meaningless. Uncountable in this sense.

- To my ears, the radio static sounded like a strange, mechanical jargon.
- The patient's speech devolved into a confused jargon that the medical staff found impossible to interpret.

Teaching tip: This sense is less common in modern conversation; learners will mostly encounter it in older literature or formal descriptions of speech disorders.

### 3. to speak in jargon

verb · CEFR C2 · Archaic

to speak using special words that others do not understand, or to make confused sounds.

For teachers: to use specialized terminology excessively or to emit unintelligible sounds.

- The birds were jargoning in the trees early this morning.
- In the old poem, the author describes the birds as they jargon and sing among the leaves of the forest.

Teaching tip: This verb form is very rare today and is almost exclusively found in poetry or historical texts.

## Examples

- I cannot understand all this legal jargon in the contract.
- The software manual was so full of technical jargon that the average user found it impossible to follow.
- While jargon facilitates efficient communication among specialists, it can act as a barrier to entry for laypeople attempting to engage with complex academic or professional subjects.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.