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Est. 1828
Wordplay
Arts & Culture (page 2)
Pilfer: How to Play and Win
Welcome to our newest word game
12 Star Wars Words
Enjoy this listicle, you will
A Great Big List of Bread Words
Quit loafing around and get that bread (word)
Word We're Watching: 'Cap'
And where 'no cap' comes from
A List of The U.S. Military Ranks in Order
From Private to General of the Army
9 Other Words for Beautiful
Here are some additional words for calling something lovely
17 Tasty Names of Appetizers
Enjoy. They're complimentary.
10 Phrases from Shakespeare
Where the "wild goose chase" comes from
11 Words Used to Great Effect by Edgar Allan Poe
The Vocabulary in the Rue Morgue
The History of 'Nuclear Family'
Getting at the core of it.
Has ‘supper’ always meant ‘dinner?'
Your grandmother might answer differently.
A Guide to British Noble Titles
Know your Duchess from your Baroness
Why Do We 'Bury the Lede?'
And why isn't it 'bury the lead'?
The Changing Meaning of 'Elope'
Read this before you elope. Or 'elope.'
What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?
The acronyms began as telegraph codes
How a Word Gets into the Dictionary
What our editors are looking for when they enter words in Merriam-Webster.
The Words of the Week - June 7
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The Words of the Week - May 31
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The Words of the Week - Jan. 26
Lookups from politics, entertainment, and Robert Burns
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The Words of the Week - Jan. 12
Lookups from the presidential race, the justice system, and the coming of the Magi
The Words of the Week - Jan. 5
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The Words of the Week - Dec. 29
Lookups from the holidays, the economy, and environmentalism
The Words of the Week - Dec. 22
Lookups from the calendar, the holidays, and NFT theft
Archaic Words We Know from Christmas Songs
You only need to know these words for one month out of the year
The Words of the Week - Dec. 15
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The Words of the Week - Dec. 8
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The Words of the Week - Dec. 1
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Word of the Year 2023
Merriam-Webster's 2023 Word of the Year is 'Authentic'
The Words of the Week - Nov. 24
Lookups from the holidays, the Middle East, and presidential history
The Words of the Week - Nov. 17
Lookups from politics, the Middle East, and international relations
The Words of the Week - Nov. 10
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The Words of the Week - Nov. 3
Dictionary lookups from politics, New York, and volcanology
The Words of the Week - Oct. 27
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The Words of the Week - Oct. 20
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The Words of the Week - Oct. 13
Lookups from politics, the celestial skies, and brunch
The Words of the Week - Oct. 6
Lookups from medicine, politics, and conspiracy theories
The Words of the Week - Sept. 29
Lookups from the Republican debates, the picket lines, and the armed services
We Added 690 New Words to the Dictionary for September 2023
Ngl, this update is a big one
The Words of the Week - Sept. 22
Lookups from the United Nations, politics, and high school football
The Words of the Week - Sept. 15
Lookups from Hollywood, the Atlantic, and the U.S. Open
The Words of the Week - Sept. 8
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The Words of the Week - Sept. 1
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The Words of the Week - Aug. 25
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The Words of the Week - Aug. 18
Lookups from Georgia, California, and Deep Space
The Words of the Week - Aug. 11
Lookups from SCOTUS, politics, and the Alabama docks
Words of the Week - Aug. 4
Lookups from the Pleistocene, the Holocene, and the legal scene
The Words of the Week - July 28
Lookups from politics, sports, and social media
The Words of the Week - July 21
Lookups from tennis, politics, and the law
The Words of the Week - July 14
Lookups from politics, international affairs, and the Marine Corps
The Words of the Week - July 7
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The Words of the Week - June 30
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The Words of the Week - June 23
Lookups from the world of finance, maritime disasters, and the law
The Words of the Week - June 16
Lookups from Juneteenth, AI, and politics
Eight Delicious Eggcorns for a Doggy Dog World
A great list for all intensive purposes.
The Words of the Week - June 9
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The Words of the Week - June 2
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The Words of the Week - Apr. 28
Lookups from activism, SCOTUS, and television
10 Words for Food with Unfortunate Names
All of them may be delicious, but one is offal
The Words of the Week - Apr. 21
Lookups from the worlds of entertainment, space exploration, and style guides
9 Odd (but essential!) Words Sung in Songs
Singing about pompatus, pogonip, and scarper
The Words of the Week - Apr. 14
Lookups from fashion, social media, and politics
The Words of the Week - Apr. 7
Lookups from religion, publishing, and politics
The Words of the Week - Mar. 31
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The Words of the Week - Mar. 24
Lookups from the weather, the courts, and politics
The Words of the Week - Mar. 17
Lookups from the law, politics, and springtime
The Words of the Week - Mar. 10
Lookups from politics, the law, and public opinion
Words We're Watching: 'Borg'
Zero stars, do not recommend
The Words of the Week - Mar. 3
Lookups from basketball, medicine, and politics
The Words of the Week - Feb. 24
Lookups from politics, meteorology, and the weather
The Words of the Week - Feb. 17
Lookups from the worlds of railroads and automobiles, law, and from newspaper style guides
What does 'UAP' mean?
Hint: people are very excited to see them
The Words of the Week - Feb. 10
Lookups from the State of the Union, the Grammys, and Turkey
The Words of the Week - Feb. 3
Lookups from cyberspace, the environment, and entertainment
The Words of the Week - Jan. 27
Lookups from politics, AI, and the family Salamandridae
The Words of the Week - Jan. 20
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The Words of the Week - Jan. 13
Lookups from politics, more politics, and even more politics
The Words of the Week - Jan 6
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The Words of the Week - Dec. 30
Lookups from aviation, politics, and the holidays
The Words of the Week - Dec. 23
Lookups from the weather, the law, and social media
The Words of the Week - Dec. 16
Lookups from politics, social media, and crypto
The Words of the Week - Dec. 9
Lookups from American history, artificial intelligence, and the law
The Words of the Week - Dec. 2
Lookups from geology, politics, and the world of sports
Word of the Year 2022
Our Word of the Year 'gaslighting,' plus 8 more
The Words of the Week - Nov. 18
Lookups from Dickens, politics, and poetry
The Words of the Week - Nov. 11
Lookups from politics, cryptocurrency, and veterans
The Words of the Week - Nov. 4
Lookups from social media, publishing, and politics
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Word of the Day
unbeknownst
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