Held on March 8, International Women’s Day celebrates the progress women have made over the last century, and the inspiring women who helped make that progress happen. From the suffragist movement of the 1800s to the 2017 Women’s March in Washington, women have used the power of language and oration to inspire countless people. Early inspiration: the Enlightenment Early feminism was heavily influenced by the …
We’ve got impostors in this quiz! Can you identify the real words among these weird and sus choices? Try not to let the nonsense fool you! (We promise you’re not a deefus, a futzer, a yampy, or a lurd if it does.)
A new year means new opportunities. No, we don’t mean going to the gym with you for a week. It is a perfect time to learn cool new words! To that end, we provide great words every day through our Word of the Day and Synonym of the Day. These two daily offerings are fantastic ways to learn some awesome new words and synonyms. But …
Four times a year, the season officially changes. And each change is marked by a specific point known as an equinox or a solstice. One term is used for the transition from winter to spring and summer to fall, and one is used for the switch from spring to summer and fall to winter. Join us on a journey through the seasons as we break …
Along with presents and beautifully decorated trees, the holidays deliver the blessing of movies that are part of many family traditions! From Miracle on 34th Street to Elf, these are the movies we watch over and over again every holiday season. (Ready for that Christmas Story marathon? We are!) These beloved classics are chockablock with dialogue we have heard so many times… but do we really …
“See Spot. See Spot run. Run, Spot, run!” It’s easy to think children’s book authors always minimize the difficulty of vocabulary words to suit their young audiences. That’s certainly the case for easy-reader board books, like the classic See Spot Run, a go-to for youngest readers. But, some authors of classic children’s literature refuse to dumb down their language for their readers, no matter the …
Help your students learn scientific vocabulary with these learning games! Science and English meet in these activities for elementary students that will help them understand the language of scientists and researchers. 💡 Learning animal vocabulary First, watch this video about words for baby animals. Activity 1: Complete this word search. Find the words they learned about in the video. Click the image to get the …
Learning a new word every day is a great way to build vocabulary. And the best way to do it is with the Dictionary.com Word of the Day! Each day, we deliver a Word of the Day video with a fun explanation of the word, what it means, and examples of how it’s used. And now, you can use these five fun steps to help …
When someone sneezes, we often use the word achoo to describe the sound. Every time we hear an achoo, we are often compelled to answer with a Bless you or God bless you. But why? Where did the word achoo come from, and why do we feel the need to bless someone whenever we hear a sneeze? This instance of onomatopoeia imitates the sound of …
It’s a question that just about every English learner has asked: “Are there any English words that have no vowels?” The answer to this depends what you mean by “vowel” and “word.” In this article, we explain what vowel means and how English words without vowels can—and do!—exist. We also talk about the examples that some people may or may not believe are actually words. …
When it comes to the big purchases in life, it’s important to master the fine print and understand words like loan, credit, interest, and … maybe also yikes and help (if that new refrigerator gives you a bit of sticker shock). There’s also another pair of words that comes in handy: warranty and guarantee. Because a major purchase is usually going to involve these two terms, you …
Maybe you’ve heard the terms ethics and morals and wondered what the difference is. Is a moral precept the same as an ethical code? A lot of people think of them as being the same thing. While they’re closely related concepts, morals refer mainly to guiding principles, and ethics refer to specific rules and actions, or behaviors. In this article, we’ll explain the subtle differences between …
