Merriam-Webster, the renowned dictionary, made an exciting announcement on Wednesday. They have added a whopping 690 new words, phrases, and acronyms to their collection.
These new additions mostly consist of humorous slang terms and phrases originating from internet and video-gaming culture. Merriam-Webster believes that these words provide a unique insight into our world today.
Peter Sokolowski, the editor at large for Merriam-Webster, expressed his excitement in a press release, stating that they hope readers will derive as much satisfaction from reading these words as they did from defining them.
Among the new slang words are “doggo,” an endearing term for a dog; “rizz,” which describes someone’s charisma or romantic appeal; and “GOAT,” used to refer to something as the greatest of all time.
They have also added popular acronyms such as “tfw” (that feeling when), “ngl” (not gonna lie), and “ttyl” (talk to you later).
From the gaming world, Merriam-Webster has included words like “nerf” (to reduce something’s effectiveness), “non-player character” (a character in a video game that cannot be controlled), and “rage quit” (to quit something in anger).
Merriam-Webster argues that these additions demonstrate a healthy language where new words are constantly being created, and existing words are given new meanings.
The inclusion of artificial intelligence terms such as “generative AI” and “large language model” further showcases the adaptability of the English language. They also added an AI-specific definition for “hallucination.”
With the ongoing discussions in the U.S. Congress about UFOs, Merriam-Webster has decided to include the term “UAP” (unidentified aerial phenomenon), which is the official U.S. government term for UFO.
And now, for some fun additions:
- “chef’s kiss” – a gesture of satisfaction or approval made by kissing the fingertips of one hand and then spreading the fingers with an outward motion
- “beast mode” – an extremely aggressive or energetic style or manner temporarily adopted by someone, such as an athlete
- “thirst trap” – a photograph or video shared with the intention of attracting attention or desire
- “simp” – to show excessive devotion or longing for someone or something
- “finsta” – a secret or incognito account on the Instagram photo-sharing service
- “jump scare” – a scripted moment in a film or video game intended to startle the audience
- “smashburger” – a hamburger patty that is pressed thin onto a heated pan or griddle at the start of cooking
- “zhuzh” – a small improvement, adjustment, or addition that enhances the overall look, taste, etc. of something
- “jorts” – shorts made of denim or jean fabric
Merriam-Webster follows three criteria when deciding if a new word belongs in the dictionary: frequent use, widespread use, and meaningful use.
For frequency, they assess if the word has been consistently used in a particular manner over time. If it’s simply a passing trend, it doesn’t make the cut.
When considering widespread use, Merriam-Webster looks for words that the
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