buzzword

[buhz-wurd]

See more synonyms for buzzword on Thesaurus.com

noun

a word or phrase, often sounding authoritative or technical, that is a vogue term in a particular profession, field of study, popular culture, etc.

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Origin of buzzword

First recorded in 1965–70; buzz¹ + word

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

jargon slang argot cant phraseology lingo doublespeak

Examples from the Web for buzzword

Contemporary Examples

The latter in particular has become a buzzword for Silicon Valley start-ups.
Bill Gates’ Internet Doomsday Prophesy Comes True
Kyle Chayka
July 17, 2014
The perilousness of ubiquity with a hashtag—or any buzzword, for that matter—is that people can too easily forget its origin.
#YesAllWomen Has Jumped the Shark
Emily Shire
May 28, 2014
“It's for the conference set; the buzzword of 2013's business model,” she said, laughing.
New York Times Editor Jill Abramson Talks Boston and Female Editors
Nina Strochlic
May 7, 2013
The Carter lovefest shows insensitivity to the buzzword of this year—the optics—not just with Israel but with American voters.
Carter Is Worse Than Clint
Gil Troy
September 4, 2012
Sustainability” is all the rage as a buzzword, but a $3.6 trillion budget is not “sustainable.
The GOP Should Let Obama Self-Destruct
Christopher Buckley
May 4, 2009

Historical Examples

Netconomy started as a buzzword, joining net, network, and economy.
The Civilization of Illiteracy
Mihai Nadin

Word Origin and History for buzzword

n.

also buzz word, 1946, from buzz (n.) + word (n.). Noted as Harvard student slang for the key words in a lecture or reading. Perhaps from the use of buzz in the popular counting game.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper