From the diamond to the big screen to the Beltway, here’s a look at what sent folks scurrying to Dictionary.com the week of August 10–17, 2018! Dinger The Little League World Series is back, and all eyes have been on Alfred Delia—known back in his New Jersey hometown as “Big Al.” The youngster scored a viral video with his on camera introduction, in which he announced …
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 …
LeBron James was as excited as a kid on Christmas Eve and so were football fans. So, what effect did that have on the Dictionary.com trending words of July 27th–August 3rd, 2018? Let’s take a look! Inviolability An announcement by Pope Francis sent one word soaring 441% this week: inviolability. The pontiff issued a statement condemning the use of the death penalty, “because it is …
From Final Jeopardy to toothbrushes made from panda’s favorite snack, the trending words on Dictionary.com took us all around the world and back again during the week of July 20–27, 2018. Get ready, get set, go word-crazy! Outercourse An attempt by Brock Turner’s lawyer to have his sexual assault conviction overturned—based on a claim that Turner only intended to have outercourse with his victim—sent hundreds …
From Fortnite to Tyler, the Creator, there were plenty of reasons to learn new words this week, July 13–20, 2018. So let’s dive in, shall we? The Circle Game It’s a game teenagers play every day, but searches for the circle game rose 1,094% for a decidedly more troubling reason this week. Four officers in the Jasper (Alabama) Police Department were suspended for making hand …
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 …
We pored over the data this week of June 29–July 6, 2018, and we got a good look at what words you learned from the news. Whether it was a presidential grammar mistake or an HBO show host’s foray into teen speak, here’s what made folks curious. Ontogeny and phylogeny Paris Hilton tried to stump the internet this week, asking Twitter users to tell her …
There were plenty of calls for civility the week of June 22–29, 2018, but do folks really know what it means? The word was one of the top trending searches on Dictionary.com, but it was far from the only term to spark interest! Eighty-six The ouster of Press Secretary Sarah Sanders from the Red Hen, an eatery in Lexington, Virginia boosted searches for the meaning …
by Kory Stamper published June 26th, 2018When we use dictionaries, we think that we are getting a pure view of language, one uncluttered by spin, by misuse, by shifting context. But, lexicographers like me will tell you that language is context. Every meaning in a dictionary is written based on the contextual uses of a word—and context, like people, can get confusing and messy. In …
From families being separated at the border, to a prominent Republican jumping ship from his party, to Beyonce and Jay-Z dropping new music, take a look at how the news affected searches on Dictionary.com the week of June 15–22, 2018. Concentration camp, illegal alien, cage, la familia, tender age Debates over the separation of children from their parents at the US border have dominated headlines …
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 …
We've compiled a list of the most cringeworthy words in the English language to try and determine what makes these words so awkward (and hated)