buzzword

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noun buzz·word \ ˈbəz-ˌwərd \

Definition of buzzword

1 :an important-sounding usually technical word or phrase often of little meaning used chiefly to impress laymen

2 :a voguish word or phrase — called also buzz phrase

See buzzword defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of buzzword from the Web

For a long time, corporate social responsibility was a buzzword marketing tool, walled off within an organization.

— alan murray, Fortune, "The Moral Imperative of Leadership: CEO Daily, Monday 21st August," 21 Aug. 2017
Networking is the buzzword in this week’s The Planner as events have been booked for women in real estate, lawyers, public relations professionals and for entrepreneurs.

— cindy kent, Sun-Sentinel.com, "The Planner: Business networking for South Florida lawyers, businesswomen, entrepreneurs," 9 Aug. 2017
Too many buzzwords or fancy jargon might be a big ruse to make the company or team sound successful and inspiring, when the reality could be anything but.

— sheryl posnick, USA TODAY, "Warning: 8 signs your job interview is a scam," 9 Aug. 2017
Explaining all of those buzzwords is too much for a short answer.

— matthew hutson, Science | AAAS, "How Google is making music with artificial intelligence," 8 Aug. 2017
The 30,000-foot strategy now seems to be to remove personality from the promotion, to make it all about promoting the — buzzword alert — brand.

— sam mellinger, kansascity, "Mellinger Minutes: Chiefs’ outlook, Sporting surging, and what would Royals be like with Yordano Ventura?," 18 July 2017
Every moment is about working in a buzzword and scoring points.

— jack holmes, Esquire, "Steve King's Plan to Build the Wall Is Absurd," 13 July 2017
The reason these buzzwords and quoted tidbits matter is their relevance to a question that has vexed investigators: whether there was a concerted effort by the Trump campaign to work hand-in-hand with Russia to tip the scales of the election.

— cristian farias, Daily Intelligencer, "Don Jr. Won’t Be Charged With ‘Collusion,’ But the Trump Team Could Be in Big Legal Trouble," 11 July 2017
The touring political comedy troupe, which is paying its annual Fourth of July visit to Ann Arbor on Tuesday, is working with a whole new cast of characters in Washington, D.C., and a whole new set off issues and buzzwords.

— greg crawford and ashley zlatopolsky, Detroit Free Press, "The week's best: Top things to do June 29-July 5," 28 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'buzzword.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of buzzword

1946

BUZZWORD Defined for English Language Learners

buzzword

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noun

Definition of buzzword for English Language Learners

: a word or phrase that becomes very popular for a period of time

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See words that rhyme with buzzword Spanish Central: Translation of buzzword Nglish: Translation of buzzword for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of buzzword for Arabic speakers

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buzzword

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