Legendary figures and the words that define them
Celebrated writers share their quest to find the right words
We're gonna stop you right there
What about Day Tomorrow?
And how did it get that name?
Word Icons
New!
And is one more correct than the others?
210,136 views
No one calls it the Merriam-Webster comma. Why?
454,693 views
There, there. We'll sort it out.
104,214 views
The awkward case of 'his or her'
265,973 views
No other common verb follows the pattern of _sneak_…_snuck_. And no one's quite sure why.
71,876 views
They started as the same word, but their meanings have drifted apart over time.
54,635 views
Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.
363,965 views
'Poets laureate'? 'Court-martials'? The curious history of postpositive adjectives in English.
290,247 views
Why does it sound strange to say 'funner' or 'funnest?'
265,153 views
Why is pig meat called 'pork' and cow meat called 'beef?' Because English took on a big serving of French words following the Norman Conquest.
547,767 views
Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings
157,044 views
How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.
41,287 views
The story of those iconic illustrations.
24,475 views
Soop, wimmen, and headake did not make the cut
162,474 views
We'll help you figure it out at once
886,735 views
796,565 views
How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts
453,188 views
Some imitative words are more surprising than others
324,874 views
And who put it there, anyway?
324,274 views
We're intent on clearing it up
315,342 views
Fashionable Words
Hear a word and type it out. How many can you get right?
Pick the best words!
