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Why are they leaving? Where are they going?

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Help your kids build their vocabulary!

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How to remember which is which

A challenging quiz of changing words.

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Videos

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A Look at Uncommon Onomatopoeia

Some imitative words are more surprising than others

How Do You Pronounce 'Vase'?

And is one way more correct than the others?

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Ghost Word

The story of an imaginary word that managed to sneak past our editors and enter the dictionary.

The Serial Comma

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

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Alright vs. All Right

Is 'alright' all right?

Latest Videos

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Is It 'Hanger' or 'Hangar'?

How to remember which is which

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'Acquiesce' — Video Word of the Day 12/5/2019

verb - to accept, comply, or submit

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How Do You Pronounce 'Groceries'?

Is there one standard way?

33,246 views

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'Coup de grâce' — Video Word of the Day 12/4/2019

noun - a decisive finishing blow, act, or event

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Why Do People Pronounce It "Nucular"?

A linguistic analysis of a notorious pronunciation

21,488 views

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'Ersatz' — Video Word of the Day 12/3/2019

adj. - being a usually inferior substitute

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Grammar and Usage

How Do You Pronounce 'Vase'?

And is one more correct than the others?

144,084 views

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There, They're, Their

There, there. We'll sort it out.

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Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?

The awkward case of 'his or her'

229,500 views

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Sneaked vs. Snuck

No other common verb follows the pattern of _sneak_…_snuck_. And no one's quite sure why.

50,126 views

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Further vs. Farther

They started as the same word, but their meanings have drifted apart over time.

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Lay vs. Lie

Tripping up English Speakers for 700 years

308,033 views

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Is It 'Attorney Generals' Or 'Attorneys General'?

'Poets laureate'? 'Court-martials'? The curious history of postpositive adjectives in English.

275,123 views

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Fun, Funner, Funnest

Why does it sound strange to say 'funner' or 'funnest?'

246,736 views

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Its vs. It's

Some practical guidance, and interesting history, about a common mistake.

70,889 views

Word History

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Words of the Year: 1066

Why is pig meat is called 'pork' and cow meat is called 'beef?' Because English took on a big serving of French words following the Norman Conquest.

532,470 views

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"Verily, I say unto you, the public is a hot mess"

143,968 views

Cynic

How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.

32,296 views

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Pictures in the Dictionary

The story of those iconic illustrations.

20,279 views

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Soop vs. Soup

Noah Webster: the man who changed the way we spell... up to a point.

64,241 views

Most Viewed

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Words of the Year: 1066

Why is pig meat is called 'pork' and cow meat is called 'beef?' Because English took on a big serving of French words following the Norman Conquest.

532,470 views

The Serial Comma

No one calls it the Merriam-Webster comma. Why?

427,575 views

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Literally

How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.

372,150 views

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Lay vs. Lie

Tripping up English Speakers for 700 years

308,033 views

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Ghost Word

The story of an imaginary word that managed to sneak past our editors and enter the dictionary.

284,758 views

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Is It 'Attorney Generals' Or 'Attorneys General'?

'Poets laureate'? 'Court-martials'? The curious history of postpositive adjectives in English.

275,123 views

2017 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

Editor Peter Sokolowski talks about 'feminism' and the rest of our Word of the Year 2017 selections

248,598 views

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Fun, Funner, Funnest

Why does it sound strange to say 'funner' or 'funnest?'

246,736 views

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Old-School Grammar

Many of today's grammar rules can be traced to the opinions of one 18th century writer.

234,335 views

Word of the Day

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'Acquiesce' — Video Word of the Day 12/5/2019

Learn the meaning and history of 'acquiesce' in our video series with TIME

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'Coup de grâce' — Video Word of the Day 12/4/2019

Learn the meaning and history of 'coup de grâce' in our video series with TIME

New!

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'Ersatz' — Video Word of the Day 12/3/2019

Learn the meaning and history of 'ersatz' in our video series with TIME

New!

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'Bon vivant' — Video Word of the Day 12/2/2019

Learn the meaning and history of 'bon vivant' in our video series with TIME

New!

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'Mutt' — Video Word of the Day 11/29/2019

Learn the meaning and history of 'mutt' in our video series with TIME

New!

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'Comestible' — Video Word of the Day 11/28/2019

Learn the meaning and history of 'comestible' in our video series with TIME

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Test Your Vocabulary

Semantic Drift Quiz

Which of the following was once a synonym for fun?

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Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

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Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

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