This became one of the most frequently looked up words on our site following Sarah Palin's embrace of it – first during her candidacy and later in the title of her book, Going Rogue.
Rogue, meaning "one who can't be controlled," comes from rogue elephant – one that "roams alone."
Example:
"She's lost confidence in most of the people on [her] plane," said a senior Republican.... He said Palin had begun to "go rogue" in some of her public pronouncements and decisions.
— Time.com, October 2008
![locavore foods](https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/gallery/gal-wap-slideshow-slide/locavore-foods-1105@1x.jpg)
Locavore
The locavore eats food grown locally; for some, the "100 Mile Diet" defines "locally."
Example:
It seems Marfisi was destined to become a locavore from an early age. He clearly remembers the first seeds he planted as a 7-year-old in Missouri.
-Los Angeles Times, June 2008
![integrity daps](https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/gallery/gal-wap-slideshow-slide/integrity-daps-1104@1x.jpg)
Integrity
The decade's parade of corporate accounting scandals - featuring Enron, WorldCom, AIG, etc. - led many to wonder about a quality that seemed more often preached than practiced.
A person with integrity has high moral values; the word is related to the math term integer, meaning "whole."
Example:
President Obama and Vice President Biden publicly welcomed Sen. Arlen Specter ... calling him a man of "immense personal courage" and "unmatched integrity."
-FOXNews.com, April 2009
![staycation couple](https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/gallery/gal-wap-slideshow-slide/staycation-source-3de08b5d5c4a18b7315e15fc8bde2d5c@1x.jpg)
Staycation
This let's-make-the-best-of-it word zoomed into the language and became associated with the national mood during The Great Recession.
Example:
For travelers, it was a year in which many pondered taking a staycation rather than face the cost and hassle of flying.
-USA Today, January 2009
![partisan donkey and elephant fightig](https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/gallery/gal-wap-slideshow-slide/partisan-donkey-and-elephant-fightig-1107@1x.jpg)
Partisan
Throughout the decade (and beyond), this word - which emphasizes one's allegiance to the part rather than the whole - characterized America's deeply divided politics.
Example:
The moderate convention speakers ... are expected to stick to safe partisan topics such as praise for Bush's leadership.
-Seattle P-I, August 2004
![googling it](https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/gallery/gal-wap-slideshow-slide/googling-it-1102@1x.jpg)
Internet mavens led the way, but soon almost everyone turned this brand into a verb. As a result, it entered the exclusive club of trademarks that are used generically.
Xerox, jeep, kleenex, dumpster : meet the new overachiever.
Example:
Several years ago when I was living in Washington, I met a man the old-fashioned way: tipsily, in a bar. Then I ruined my chances with him the new-fashioned way. I Googled him.
-New York Times, September 2008
![insurgents raising guns](https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/gallery/gal-wap-slideshow-slide/insurgents-raising-guns-1103@1x.jpg)
Insurgent
This word comes from the Latin, meaning "to rise up."
Far more neutral than terms like "terrorist" and "freedom fighter," it often appears in news accounts - and inspired a lot of lookups early in the Iraq war.
Example:
"Insurgents now are more active [and] more organized, and the political environment, whether in Pakistan or Afghanistan, favors insurgent activities."
-A Security Analyst quoted in the Huffington Post, June 2008
![bailout dollars](https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/gallery/gal-wap-slideshow-slide/bailout-dollars-1100@1x.jpg)
Bailout
Attempting to grasp what happened when the government gave money to Wall Street, many people started with the dictionary definition - making this one of the most looked-up terms of the crisis.
Example:
U.S. President George W. Bush, saying "our entire economy is in danger," urged Congress to approve his administration's $700 billion bailout proposal.
-CNN.com, September 2008
![pandemic doctor with mask](https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/gallery/gal-wap-slideshow-slide/pandemic-doctor-with-mask-source-26e2cfad4bd99d3c0e6272ee7076ca0c@1x.jpg)
Pandemic
In 2005 it was bird flu; in 2009, swine flu.
The resulting travel restrictions made it clear that a pandemic spreads across an even wider area - in these cases, across continents - than an epidemic.
Example:
A White House spokesman said the administration soon will release "a pandemic flu plan" that is expected to address the critical issue of U.S. flu vaccine manufacturing capacity.
-Chicago Tribune, October 2005
![biking reduces carbon footprint](https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/gallery/gal-wap-slideshow-slide/biking-reduces-carbon-footprint-1101@1x.jpg)
Carbon footprint
As climate change became one of the leading issues of the decade, this succinct phrase helped make a global challenge personal.
Example:
"There are some good things, but it's frustrating because you see how much better some other communities are doing when it comes to climate change and reducing their carbon footprint."
-An Environmentalist quoted in the Florida Times Union, September 2008