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1,400 new words in our dictionary!
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Est. 1828
Grammar & Usage
Are You Misusing These 10 Common Words?
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Active vs. Passive Voice: What's the difference?
More Commonly Mispronounced Words
We're here to help
Commonly Confused
Usage Notes
Spelling & Pronunciation
Punctuation
Popular
Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?
The shifting role of the apostrophe
Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate
All your favorite pet peeves
The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals
How to pluralize pretty much anything
A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’
Well, who's asking?
'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
'A historic' night or 'An historic' night?
Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
A learned explanation that is not wicked hard
What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
In which we definitively answer a thoroughly uncontentious question
Commonly Misspelled Words
Spelling is hard
Commonly Confused
Commonly Confused
Is it 'forty' or 'fourty'?
This is usage
Read
'Awhile' vs. 'A While'
There are rules, but who's listening?
Read
Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?
And what about 'barefaced'?
Read
Is it 'home in' or 'hone in'?
Both are used, but 'home in' does a better job of hitting the mark.
Read
See All
'Canceled' or 'cancelled'?
One L or two?
Usage Notes
See More
A Comprehensive Guide to Forming Compounds
Everything you need to know
'Broadcast' or 'Broadcasted'?
Conjugating an irregular verb
Can ‘criteria’ ever be singular?
It depends on what you base your decision.
Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide
A guide to plural and possessive names
What does 'etcetera' mean?
See More
Spelling & Pronunciation
Spelling & Pronunciation
How to Remember the Spelling of 'Definitely'
A definitive answer.
Absent Letters That Are Heard Anyway
They aren't seen but they are heard
Read
How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items
No more order anxiety!
Read
Revealing What Rhymes with 'Orange'
It's technical, but it works.
Read
See All
The Many Plurals of 'Octopus'
But which is correct?
Punctuation
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To Use or Not Use the "?" in Requests
"Would you read this, please."
All About Ellipses ...
How to use them … and talk about them
The History of 'Ampersand'
How the '&' got its name
Comma Splices: What They Are and How to Correct Them (or not)
Adventurous writers pull them off regularly
A Guide to Using Semicolons
See More
