For us linguists, the flurry of "word of the year" announcements from dictionaries and publishers is a holiday tradition as anticipated as mince pies. The words of the year aren't just a fun peek into new slang and language changes,

From ‘rage bait’ to ‘parasocial’ to ‘vibe coding,’ 2025’s picks trace an internet-era feeling of exhaustion, skepticism — and figuring out what’s real

Merriam-Webster announced its 2024 Word of the Year. Ironically, it is something on which many would agree. The dictionary and publishing company announced the word of the year and list of other top-searched words that defined the year Monday, and the list ...

Dictionary.com has crowned a set of numbers as its 2025 word of the year. It says it reserves that distinction for a word that reflects "social trends and global events that defined that year" and "reveals the stories we tell about ourselves and how we've ...

The results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election rattled the country and sent shockwaves across the world — or were cause for celebration, depending on who you ask. Is it any surprise then that the Merriam-Webster word of the year is “polarization”?

67. Credit: Mashable composite / Screenshots: TikTok / @mysteryentertainment1_ /@youtubeshortsjustforyou / @j.r.i.c.h Remember when words used to mean something? Well ...

Tariffs are President Trump's favorite word. That's not an exaggeration. "I always say 'tariffs' is the most beautiful word to me in the dictionary," he said at a rally just hours after his inauguration in January. "Because tariffs are going to make us ...

It’s not just you. Oxford University Press, the publisher of the august Oxford English Dictionary, is also going a bit fuzzy between the ears. After digging through its enormous database, it has chosen “brain rot” — specifically, the kind brought ...

Following a contentious presidential election, Merriam-Webster has chosen its word of the year for 2024: “polarization.” The American dictionary publisher announced its selection today, defining the term as “division into two sharply distinct ...

From Glassdoor's "fatigue" to Oxford Dictionary's "rage bait," the words of 2025 is reflecting a sense of exhaustion and inability to opt-out.