Each week, we scan the latest headlines to spot words in action. From major news stories to pop culture buzz, this feature highlights language as it’s unfolding. Stories about wildfires, shell therapy, and the end of an online era all contributed to the vocabulary from this week’s news.
archives
noun: documents or records relating to the activities, business dealings, etc., of a person, family, corporation, association, community, or nation
From the headlines: A new initiative will harness AI to improve access to the extensive archives of the Boston Public Library. In partnership with Harvard Law School and OpenAI, the library plans to scan and digitize its vast trove of historical materials, making them available online. These archives, which include oral histories and congressional records from as far back as the 1800s, currently can only be viewed in person.
conch
noun: the spiral shell of a gastropod, often used as a horn
From the headlines: A small study showed that blowing into a conch shell could help relieve the effects of sleep apnea. The condition causes people to periodically stop breathing while they sleep, leading to drowsiness and high blood pressure. Researchers taught patients to exhale fully into the large, spiral-shaped shells for fifteen minutes each day. This group experienced fewer sleep apnea episodes than a control group.
multitudinous
adjective: existing, occurring, or present in great numbers
From the headlines: British conservationists say an abandoned oil refinery, now home to multitudinous species of plants and animals, highlights the promise of converting industrial “brownfields” into thriving ecosystems. Once dominated by asphalt and disused infrastructure, the site was acquired by the UK Land Trust and has since undergone a remarkable transformation. Today, it hosts an astonishing variety of life — including owls, nightingales, voles, bees, reptiles, lichens, and stonecrops — demonstrating the biodiversity such reclaimed spaces can support.
paucity
noun: smallness of quantity; scarcity
From the headlines: Economists are expressing concern that the ongoing paucity of tourists in Las Vegas may signal deeper troubles in the national economy. For six straight months, the city has seen declining visitor numbers, prompting fears about rising inflation and dwindling international tourism. Some experts believe this sustained paucity of travelers could be a reflection of broader trends affecting the entire United States.
peddler
noun: a person who sells from door to door or on the street
From the headlines: President Emmanuel Macron awarded Ali Akbar, France’s last newspaper peddler, a Légion d’Honneur, the country’s highest order of merit. Akbar has been hawking papers on the streets of Paris since 1974. He sells several publications, including Le Monde and Les Echos, walking miles through the city every day and calling out, “Ça y est!” or “That’s it!”
quaint
adjective: having an old-fashioned attractiveness or charm
From the headlines: AOL said it will shut down its dial-up internet service next month. This early form of internet access, known for its use of landlines and signature beeping sounds, was a defining feature of online life in the 1990s. Today it is widely considered quaint, with only 0.01 percent of U.S. households still using AOL dial-up. In an era dominated by high-speed broadband, the service was regarded as a slow, nostalgic relic of a bygone era.
reactor
noun: an apparatus in which a nuclear-fission chain reaction can be initiated, sustained, and controlled
From the headlines: NASA announced plans to generate power for a lunar base by putting a small nuclear reactor on the moon. While solar panels currently produce enough electricity for orbiting and landing spacecraft, a moon-based outpost where humans might stay for extended periods would require much more power. Creating heat through uranium fission, a lunar reactor would keep a base running, although building one on the moon presents engineering challenges that would cost billions of dollars.
reprieve
noun: a respite or temporary relief
From the headlines: Wildfires have burned more than 140,000 acres in Colorado, and firefighters are hoping for a reprieve from the relentless heat and dry conditions. With strong winds, high temperatures, and persistent drought fueling the flames, containment has become nearly impossible. Until there’s a much-needed shift in the weather, crews are focused on safeguarding homes, assisting evacuations, and doing what they can to keep the fires from spreading further.
suspension bridge
noun: a bridge having a deck suspended from cables anchored at their extremities and usually raised on towers
From the headlines: Italy approved plans for a suspension bridge connecting Sicily to the mainland. The Strait of Messina Bridge would extend across a channel in the Mediterranean Sea, suspended by cables attached to towers. Planners say it would be the world’s longest suspension bridge. The project, which is controversial because of its estimated cost of over $15 billion, was initially proposed in 1971.
sweltering
adjective: characterized by oppressive heat
From the headlines: Sweltering temperatures have led to thousands of evacuations and wildfires in Spain, Greece, France, and Portugal. The dangerously oppressive heat, measuring over 107 degrees in many parts of Southern Europe, has caused at least four deaths and scores of injuries. 2025 is shaping up to be one of the hottest years ever recorded in Europe.
