Rapper feuds. Football celebrations. There’s a lot going on in the trending word list from September 7–14, 2108. Payola A feud between rappers Nicki Minaj and Cardi B ballooned to new heights this week, with Cardi allegedly throwing a shoe at Nicki and the Starships singer accusing the “I Like It” rapper of earning her success thanks to payola. So what’s payola? Clearly that was the …
From Beyonce to Britain, here’s why you were searching for meaning on Dictionary.com the week of August 3–8, 2018. FUPA Vogue got the Beyonce treatment this week, and so did the Dictionary.com trending words list. The singer got frank about the changes her body has undergone as she’s aged and carried babies, even praising her own FUPA. If you’re not familiar with the acronym, you’re …
by Rory Gory Many people are raised to believe that gender and sex are the same thing, and that there are two options available to us: male or female. But neither sex nor gender is inherently binary—the belief that people must be classified into one of these two categories. When something can’t be placed in two boxes, we call it nonbinary, meaning “not consisting of, …
A babywearing dad. A former White House photographer. A long-running TV show. What do they all have in common? Spots on the Dictionary.com Trending Words of the Week list for October 12–19, 2018! Emasculate British TV presenter Piers Morgan took aim at actor Daniel Craig this week, poking fun at the James Bond star for babywearing his little girl. Morgan hashtagged the potshot #EmasculatedBond, sending …
The words affect and effect are two of the most commonly confused words in the English language. They’re pronounced pretty much the same, used in the same contexts, and both can be used as both a verb and a noun. So how can you remember the difference? In this article, we’ll explain: The difference between affect and effect When to use affect or effect affects …
Word Tied to Trending Data, Global News Events OAKLAND, Calif., November 27, 2017 – Dictionary.com today announced it has named ‘complicit’ as 2017’s Word of the Year. Defined as “choosing to be involved in an illegal or questionable act, especially with others,” the word is indicative of larger trends that resonated throughout the year, hitting every aspect of today’s culture from politics and news, to …
While the bald eagle is a national symbol for the United States, the two major political parties that govern it are often represented by two different animals: a donkey for the Democratic Party and an elephant for the Republican Party. These animals are commonly linked with these two parties in everything from political analysis to bumper stickers. Why these two animals, though? Why not an …
When it comes to making a new friend, would you say she has proven trustworthy or she has proved trustworthy? The common phrase innocent until proven guilty may come to mind—so does this mean proven is acceptable and proved is not? The answer may surprise you. Although we sincerely hope you don’t have reason to use this particular legal phrase in your own personal life, you should …
Sanskrit is an ancient language that dates back to the Bronze Age. It is the language at the root of many languages of the Indian subcontinent, including Hindi, and it is used in ancient literary texts and sacred texts of the Hindu and Buddhist religions, particularly the Vedas. The holy and poetic nature of the language is hinted at in the meaning and origin of …
The internet keeps on supplying us with an endless stream of trendy slang words that come from anywhere—from bizarre TikTok streams and YouTube videos featuring sentient toilets—and everywhere in between. Why are grown men called babygirl? What is the scuttlebutt on tush push and gyatt? What does it mean to be delulu? Are we doomed to a fate of enshittification? We have all of the …
