umlaut

1 of 2

noun

1
: a diacritical mark ¨ placed over a vowel to indicate a more central or front articulation compare diaeresis
2
a
: the change of a vowel (such as \ü\ to \ē\ in goose, geese) that is caused by partial assimilation to a succeeding sound or that occurs as a reflex of the former presence of a succeeding sound which has been lost or altered
b
: a vowel resulting from such partial assimilation

umlaut

2 of 2

verb

umlauted; umlauting; umlauts

transitive verb

1
: to produce by umlaut
2
: to write or print an umlaut over

Examples of umlaut in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The name is a combination of food and nude, with an umlaut to encourage the proper pronunciation. Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2023 Anderson, droll and forthright, talked about the longevity of Jethro Tull, the enduring argument about the band’s place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and his appreciation of the umlaut. Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 19 Aug. 2023 The Philadelphia quartet leans hard on the kind of medieval tropes more frequently deployed by kitsch-curious heavy metal groups (album covers adorned with ancient warriors, song titles pocked with umlauts), but their sound is very much their own. Chris Richards, Washington Post, 17 May 2023 His song titles often feature extraneous umlauts, and while the accent mark highlights different vowel sounds, Yeat seems obsessed with creating new sounds entirely. Chris Kelly, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2023 His band has an umlaut-worthy örigin story. Matt Wake | Mwake@al.com, al, 16 Sep. 2022 According to an audit report conducted by independent third party umlaut containing crowdsourced data for user experience collected from January to July 2021. Forbes, 11 Oct. 2021 Zoë Kravitz often wears them with short shorts or mini skirts, while fellow umlaut-boasting babe Chloë Sevigny has worn them with everything from tailored shorts to dad jeans to dresses. Liana Satenstein, Vogue, 18 Nov. 2021 Under Doktor Lange’s tutelage it, and also the umlaut, had a place of honor. Cynthia Ozick, The Atlantic, 3 Aug. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'umlaut.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

German, from um- around, transforming + Laut sound

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1845, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Verb

1879, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of umlaut was circa 1845

Dictionary Entries Near umlaut

Cite this Entry

“Umlaut.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/umlaut. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

umlaut

noun
um·​laut
ˈu̇m-ˌlau̇t,
ˈüm-
1
: the change of a vowel brought about by a following sound
2
: a diacritical mark ¨ placed especially over a German vowel to indicate umlaut

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