Oxford Word of the Year

11 Stories

Oxford Reveals Its Word of the Year

It's 'brain rot'

(Newser) - Oxford is out with its 2024 word of the year, and it's a term that's appeared on other end-of-year lists: "brain rot," referencing what happens to one's brain when one mindlessly scrolls social media and other trivial online content. Oxford University Press, which publishes the...

Another Word of the Year Has Been Chosen
Oxford Picks Its
Word of the Year
Dec 4, 2023 1:00 AM CST

Oxford Picks Its Word of the Year

'Rizz'

(Newser) - Another word of the year has been chosen, and, bucking the trend for 2023, this one has nothing to do with artificial intelligence. Oxford University Press chose "rizz," which, as the BBC reports, is slang that the youngsters these days use to mean charm, style, or romantic appeal,...

Oxford Dictionary Picks Its Word of the Year
Oxford Dictionary Picks
Its Word of the Year
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Dec 10, 2022 6:00 AM CST

Oxford Dictionary Picks Its Word of the Year

2022 was the time to go 'goblin mode'

(Newser) - The prestigious Oxford English Dictionary put this year's selection of its word of the year in the hands of voters for the first time, and it wasn't a close fight. "Goblin mode" won in a landslide, reports the BBC . For those unfamiliar, the dictionary defines the term...

Oxford's Word of the Year Is an 'Attention-Grabbing' One

'No word better captures the atmosphere of the past year than vax'

(Newser) - If you never want to hear anything about the pandemic ever again, there's one word you'll have to endure for at least another 15 minutes as it enjoys another moment in the sun. Oxford Languages has deemed "vax" its word of the year, with senior editor Fiona...

2020 'Left Us Speechless.' The Word of the Year Reflects That

Oxford simply couldn't pick just one

(Newser) - In 2019, Oxford Languages' word (or term, rather) of the year was "climate emergency." In 2020, however, the publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary ran into a conundrum : It soon realized that this year has been like no other, and one that simply couldn't be summed up...

Oxford Reveals Word of the Year
Oxford Reveals
Word of the Year
Nov 15, 2018 1:10 PM CST

Oxford Reveals Word of the Year

It's "toxic"

(Newser) - Oxford Dictionaries has revealed 2018's Word of the Year, and it's not an uplifting one: "toxic." Oxford says it found a 45% increase in searches for that word on oxforddictionaries.com, and also explained that the word is increasingly being used both literally and figuratively. NPR...

Donald Trump Inspired This Word of the Year

'Post-truth' gets the nod from Oxford Dictionaries

(Newser) - Oxford Dictionaries has taken inspiration from the US election in choosing its 2016 word of the year: "post-truth." How does "post-truth" relate to Donald Trump? Well, Oxford's own definition of the adjective—use of which spiked 2,000% this year, especially when Trump won the Republican...

Oxford's Word of 2014: Vape
 Oxford's Word of 2014: Vape 
Nov 18, 2014 3:42 AM CST

Oxford's Word of 2014: Vape

'Budtender,' 'slacktivism' also on the shortlist

(Newser) - Oxford Dictionaries says it tries to reflect what's happening in society with its word of the year, and this seems to have been a smoke-heavy year: "Vape"—"to inhale and exhale the vapor produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device"—was this year's...

Oxford Dictionary's Word of 2012: GIF

File format beats 'YOLO,' 'superstorm'

(Newser) - The GIF file type for simple animations has been around since the '80s but only now has the Oxford Dictionary decided to make it its American word of the year. GIF—which stands for "graphic interchange format"—"celebrated a lexical milestone in 2012, gaining traction as...

Palin's 'Refudiate' Is Oxford Dictionary's Word of 2010

Tea party leader's neologism formally enters lexicon

(Newser) - Sarah Palin might have been ridiculed for urging Muslims to "refudiate" the so-called Ground Zero Mosque in a mangled tweet this year, but the Oxford American Dictionary thinks she's on to something: “'refudiate' more or less stands on its own, suggesting a general sense of “'reject,'"...

Latest Facebook Star: 2009 Word of the Year

'Unfriend' beats 'sexting' and 'birther,' gets call from dictionary

(Newser) - In a move sure to get English majors talking, the New Oxford American Dictionary has crowned “unfriend” as its Word of the Year for 2009. And yes, the verb means exactly what you think it means: "To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site...

11 Stories