So you have an important test coming up. Standardized tests like the SAT, ACT, GRE, and GED are a major part of the high school, college, and even graduate school experience, but prepping for these tests isn’t exactly everyone’s favorite activity. Each of these tests serves a different function in the high school and college admissions process, but no matter which one you’re signed up …
As the saying goes, there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes. This saying dates all the way back to 1716, and the word tax is even older than that. Tax, meaning “a sum of money demanded by a government,” comes from the Latin taxare, meaning “censure, charge, tax with a fault,” and dates to around the 1200s. For centuries, taxes have been …
The pronunciation of words in English is not always straightforward. Unlike some languages, such as French or Spanish, there is not always a direct relationship between the spelling of words and how they are said aloud. In technical terms, there is not always a consistent relationship between graphemes (basically, writing units) and their phonemes (sounds) in English. There are a couple of reasons for this. The English …
Black history is American history, but it’s also bigger than that. The reach and influence of Black culture is global. Black history is too vast to be covered or contained in a single month, or a single article. Black History Month is nevertheless a reminder to engage in a year-round, lifelong celebration and exploration of Black history and its many facets. It’s an opportunity to …
Language is a living thing, and so is Dictionary.com. Our dictionary will always be a work in progress—there’s no day in the future when we’ll mark it “complete” after adding the last word. This never-ending work is the job of our lexicographers, the (amazingly talented) people who write and edit the dictionary. They do more than just add and define words. They also add new …
According to the World Health Organization’s international studies, an estimated 1 in 270 people has autism spectrum disorder. This prevalence has inspired the declaration of April as Autism Awareness Month or Autism Acceptance Month. The United Nations also observes April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day. With this recognition comes the expectation that people will be inspired to learn more and share information about autism spectrum disorder, …
Yeah … these two words seem the same but which one should you use? Yea vs. yeah Yea can be used as an informal adverb meaning “yes” or “to affirm,” or as a noun to indicate an affirmative vote. When used in a vote, yea can be pronounced like “yay.” Yea can also be used as an adverb to amplify an adjective or to say …
We’re only a quarter of the way through 2019, but already we’ve seen some significant trends in searches on Dictionary.com. Politics, as ever, has propelled many of the lookups, but that’s not the only driver. Sneak peek: Top terms range from pad thai to deep space. Here are the words setting the search trends through March 2019: 1. Exonerate Our top lookup in early 2019 …
The idea of Earth Day emerged in 1969, inspired by a growing awareness of environmental concerns. Celebrated each year on April 22, the day highlights the importance of protecting the natural world. The first official Earth Day was organized in 1970 by Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, who hoped to bring environmental issues to the attention of politicians and the broader public. Nelson was moved …
Do you know all of your colors? No, we aren’t just talking about red and green. We mean color words like quercitron, puce, and dragon’s blood. There are so many unique and fascinating words that describe shades of color in our language. If you stop at the basics, you might just miss out on some of the most vivid and historically interesting shades that exist. …
As any participant in a spelling bee can tell you, correctly spelling words in the English language is not always easy. In most languages, the way words are spelled (graphemes) consistently relate to the way they sound (phonemes). But the English language uses a mix of spellings and pronunciations from Latin, Greek, French, German, and many others. To further confuse matters, words in English have …
Which word rules your part of the town? March is bracket season, and Dictionary.com has assembled a field of 32 of the most iconic local slang from around the country, separated out between the West, Northeast, South, and Midwest. Now it’s up to you to vote on which regional lingo (and region) reigns supreme! Winner Y’all The people have spoken and y’all won Best Regional …
