Duolingo

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Duolingo

Where it comes from

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.

noun Duolingos

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.
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.
Internet, colloquial, uncommon A lesson on Duolingo. I DIDN'T DO MY DAILY DUOLINGO YDAY. S H I T
Internet, colloquial, rare A language learning course on Duolingo. Is doing two Duolingos at once, say Spanish and Russian, a bad idea?

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Cite this

MLA

"Duolingo." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/duolingo. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

Duolingo. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/duolingo

Chicago

"Duolingo." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/duolingo.

BibTeX

@misc{duolingo_2026,
  title = {Duolingo},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/duolingo},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}