What New Words Were Added To The Dictionary This Year?

As a lover of language, I always look forward to the announcements about which words have been added to the dictionary and how our language is evolving. Words like “amirite,” “bit rot,” and “copypasta” (referring to data that have been copied and spread widely online, like a meme) as well as acronyms like “FTW” (for the win) and “TBH” (to be honest) were all added. Most interestingly, the dictionary also added words that were starting to get used in informal ways, such as the word because in the sentence: “Drastic temperature changes mess with the molecules in food, you know, because science.”

As lexicographer and Merriam-Webster editor Peter Sokolowski says: “the job of the lexicographer is akin to that of a census-takers when considering a word. We’re not so much gatekeepers of language. I don’t listen [and] think to myself, ‘Oh, that’s not a word.’ Lexicographers, are driven by curiosity instead of judgment.”

Words matter, and cataloging their use helps us understand how our culture is shifting. You know, because lexicography.