Merriam Webster Adds 1,400 New Words. See Definitions
The update reflects widespread online and social media use, with Merriam-Webster adding words such as "looksmaxxing" and "cuffing season" after years of common usage.
- On Tuesday, Merriam-Webster announced the addition of 1,400 new words to its dictionary, including "looksmaxxing," defined as taking extreme or dangerous measures to increase physical attractiveness.
- Tracing its origins to 1843, the publisher began when brothers George and Charles Merriam acquired rights to Noah Webster's 1841 edition. Lexicographers determine entries based on frequent, widespread, and meaningful usage rather than formal committees.
- Culinary additions include "cake pop," "chili crisp," and "superfood," while social media culture introduced terms like "parasocial" and "Rickroll." Emotional states such as "Sunday scaries" also earned definitions.
- Merriam-Webster President Gregory Barlow stated the dictionary serves as a "user's manual for communication." The company retains all existing words while expanding to reflect contemporary expression.
- Internet trends create fertile soil where new language crops up and spreads, according to Barlow. The publisher maintains limitless digital space to archive these ephemeral terms, ensuring the dictionary reflects contemporary society.
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16 Articles
Merriam-Webster Adds Viral 'Looksmaxxing' Trend To The Dictionary
Merriam-Webster’s latest dictionary update includes a term born from an online obsession with optimizing physical attractiveness. “Looksmaxxing” joins more than […] The Merriam-Webster Adds Viral ‘Looksmaxxing’ Trend To The Dictionary first appeared on The Blast
Looksmaxxing, cuffing season, vibe coding and more: US dictionary Merriam-Webster gets a ‘glow up’ with 1,400 new words
Merriam-Webster added 1,400 new words to its dictionary including words like Looksmaxxing, cuffing season, vibe coding and more. It also gave a nod to AI with the new word uncanny valley.
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Merriam-Webster just officially recognized 1,400 new words, and they bring the lexicon of the AI era into the dictionary. On average, Merriam-Webster adds about 1,000 new entries every year, usually in large batches. Its editors are constantly reading widely to identify emerging words, and then searching through databases to determine whether those words are being used frequently, meaningfully, and widely. According to the company’s blog post on…
Merriam-Webster dictionary adds looksmaxxing, cuffing season and more definitions
Merriam-Webster, the venerable dictionary that traces its roots to a time before looksmaxxing and yacht rock, has added those words along with chili crisp, shapewear and cuffing season, to its comprehensive accounting of the English language.
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