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What's the Singular of 'Scissors'?

A tricky, double-edged word origin.

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Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

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Vocabulary Thrives in Darkness

Words for the goth in all of us

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'Svengali' Bannon leaving White House

'A person who manipulates'

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Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

Videos

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Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

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The Serial Comma

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

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2016 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

How we chose 'surreal'

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Alright vs. All Right

Is 'alright' all right?

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Is None Singular or Plural?

Or both? Or neither?

Latest Videos

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Grammar and Usage

Word History

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  1. Svengali 'A person who manipulates'

  2. syzygy An obscure astronomy term goes mainstream

  3. hegemon "Something having dominant influence over others"

  4. repugnant Trump clarifies his position on racism

  5. white nationalist, white supremacist Trending in 2017

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Test Your Vocabulary

Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

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  • Which came first?
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Words at Play

2-pairs-of-scissors
What's the Singular of 'Scissors'?

A tricky, double-edged word origin.

a-woman-waits-at-the-end-of-a-gloomy-pier-does-she-wait-for-charon-the-ferryman-to-the-underworld-it-is-dark-but-she-carries-a-parasol
Great Words for Twilight and Darkness

Words for the goth in all of us

bunch-of-yellow-balloons-lit-by-the-sun
Helium: This Word Brought to You by a Solar Eclipse

And by the Sun, with some help from Greek.

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We're Down With You Being—or Your Being?—a Square

It's about (you? your?) having your say.

Word Games

time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

Take the quiz
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Name More Food!

Test your knowledge of food vocabulary!

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
SCRABBLE® Sprint
SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game