Whether it’s CNN host Jake Tapper tweeting or Canadian officials making statements to the press, the news tends to make an impact on what people search in the dictionary. Here’s a peek at the words that had folks guessing the week of June 8–15, 2018! Ad hominem Tensions between the United States and our northern neighbor, Canada, are at an all-time high this week, with …
Kylie Jenner. The Bachelorette. Wiz Khalifa. The July 6–13, 2018 edition of trending words is absolutely star-studded. So let’s dive in! Self-made Is Kylie Jenner a self-made billionaire? That’s how Forbes labelled her this week, and it left plenty of folks curious about just what it means to be self-made. How curious? Searches rose 864,100% on Wednesday! The answer to the query, of course, is …
From the loss of one of the world’s superheroes to the happenings on the world stage, take a look at the news stories that made people scurry to Dictionary.com November 9–16, 2018 to find meaning. Excelsior Marvel fans mourned the loss of one of the comic book industries superheroes November 12. Stan Lee died at age 95, leaving behind the legendary characters he created or …
It was the interview heard ’round the world, so what happened when Stormy Daniels showed up on 60 Minutes to talk about her alleged affair with President Donald Trump? Let’s just say searches on Dictionary.com heated up this week, March 24–30, 2018! Perched and affair Twitter was abuzz the evening of March 25 as Daniels described the way the president perched on a bed. Searches for …
What’s better than a comic book when you’re a kid? How about a free printable comic book that doubles as a writing prompt for kids? Bam! Sure, reading comic books (and graphic novels for that matter) is a classic kid activity and one that’s expert-approved for helping kids commit to a lifelong love of reading. Look no further than the likes of Captain Underpants, Diary …
We’re back celebrating our Word of the Day! Because there’s plenty left to reminisce about from the last 10 years. In Part II of our lexical stroll down memory lane (see Part I, 1999–2008, here), we will be examining word selections from 2009–2018, unearthing serendipitous synchronicities and offering perspicacious perspectives into notable events and trends of the last decade. Oops, just kidding, because our first …
Compliment and complement are commonly confused terms because they’re pronounced alike and originally shared some meanings. But over time, they’ve become separate words with entirely different definitions. What does complement mean? Complement with an E is the older of the two terms. Its noun sense has been around in English since the 1300s. The term derives from the Latin complēmentum, meaning “something that completes.” So, that means if …
