by Ashley Austrew What makes someone an expert? In the days of the internet, it seems like it’s gotten much harder to tell. Social media and the instant expert Social media makes it possible for anyone to have a platform, and that’s given rise to the phenomenon known as the instant expert. These self-appointed authorities on everything from federal policy to last night’s episode of This Is …
by Taneesh KheraWhen you picture a wave, what do you think of? I bet you see a body of water, possibly a lake, but more likely an ocean. A shore might come to mind, as would sand and beaches, and maybe a surfer or a boat or ship. Another possibility, not altogether different, is a hand saying hello, waving goodbye. If you consume much news, …
by Ashley AustrewAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been in office for less than a month, and already she’s been the subject of controversy on multiple occasions. First, she was reportedly booed in Congress while voting to elect Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the house. Then, she was targeted by the leak of the now-infamous recording of her dancing in college. And most recently, Ocasio-Cortez made headlines for telling …
The word bad is well, just that. Its original meaning is still the most common one in use today: “not good in any manner or degree.” But, come on, we all know bad isn’t always a bad thing … in fact, using bad as a word of approval started in the 1890s and was popularized in the 1920s within the jazz scene. There’s even a quote …
What do Cardi B and Vice President Mike Pence’s wife Karen Pence have in common? They both helped put words on the most searched list from January 11–18, 2019! Contumacious Second Lady Karen Pence made headlines January 15 with an announcement that she accepted a job as an art teacher at a conservative Christian school in Virginia. The vice president’s wife landed on the trending …
by Ashley AustrewBoyfriend or girlfriend. Husband or wife. Significant other. Bae. There are a lot of different words one could use to describe the person with whom they’re in a romantic relationship. But, the one word that is most quickly redefining the way we talk about relationships is partner. Is First Partner the future? Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who is married to California’s newest governor, Gavin Newsom, …
Here are the best good-and-evil duos that we all struggle to keep balanced, you may even learn an antonym or two along the way.
In the age of LOL, WTF, and OMG, abbreviations are often looked at as a sign of the coming apocalypse. (Spoiler: LOL, WTF, and OMG are not the oldest abbreviations in English—you’re shocked, we know.) So-called textspeak is viewed as a lesser form of English, and many people worry that pretty soon we’ll all be communicating solely in emoji. But, abbreviations aren’t exactly a new invention. …
It used to be that when we spoke of allies, it was most likely in a military sense, referring to countries formally banded together, usually by treaty, to fight against their enemies. Today, though, the word is used more broadly. What does ally mean today? An ally, ultimately from a Latin verb meaning “to bind to,” is used to describe “someone who supports disenfranchised and underrepresented groups …
By Jane Solomon The word influencer has been used in English since the mid-1600s, though of course back then it wasn’t a job title. In recent years, the term has become a catch-all for a certain kind of career track that is at the center of a burgeoning but profitable industry. As influencer continues to expand in English and pull new terms and meanings into …
Thanks to the holidays, we’re serving up two weeks worth of words that have trended on Dictionary.com! From Santa Claus to outer space, here’s what had folks searching for meaning December 21, 2018–January 4, 2019. Ultima Thule Space fans spent the week watching as NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flew by the most distant space object ever explored. Dubbed Ultima Thule, the object is some 4 billion miles …
What could words like laurel, dog whistle, lodestar, and self-made possibly have in common? These words and others like them sent hundreds of thousands of folks to Dictionary.com in 2018, searching for answers. Whether you were challenging your friends and family to declare themselves #TeamLaurel or #TeamYanny or playing armchair detective with the words in a cryptic New York Times op-ed, Dictionary.com was here to …
