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How to remember which is which

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Help your kids build their vocabulary!

You'll love to hate these other words!

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A word for something you want to avoid

Match the pasta with its meaning in Italian.

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?

alright allright video

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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'Incongruous' — Video Word of the Day 11/14/2019

adj. - not being in agreement or harmony

New!

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How Do You Pronounce 'Groceries'?

Is there one standard way?

25,055 views

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'Gambit' — Video Word of the Day 11/13/2019

noun - a calculated move

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Why Do People Pronounce It "Nucular"?

A linguistic analysis of a notorious pronunciation

17,931 views

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'Bruit' — Video Word of the Day 11/12/2019

verb - to spread as a report or rumor

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Grammar and Usage

How Do You Pronounce 'Vase'?

And is one more correct than the others?

143,089 views

there theyre their video

There, They're, Their

There, there. We'll sort it out.

95,789 views

video his or her

Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?

The awkward case of 'his or her'

228,794 views

sneaked vs snuck video

Sneaked vs. Snuck

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

50,043 views

further vs farther video

Further vs. Farther

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

39,799 views

video lay vs lie

Lay vs. Lie

Tripping up English Speakers for 700 years

307,964 views

video title attorney generals

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

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

275,060 views

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Fun, Funner, Funnest

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

246,670 views

video its vs its

Its vs. It's

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

70,802 views

Word History

video title words of the year 1066

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.

532,343 views

Hot Mess

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

143,913 views

Cynic

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

32,280 views

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Pictures in the Dictionary

The story of those iconic illustrations.

20,266 views

video soup vs soop

Soop vs. Soup

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

64,198 views

Most Viewed

video title words of the year 1066

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.

532,343 views

The Serial Comma

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

427,467 views

video literally

Literally

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

370,769 views

video lay vs lie

Lay vs. Lie

Tripping up English Speakers for 700 years

307,964 views

video ghost words

Ghost Word

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

284,619 views

video title attorney generals

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

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

275,060 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

248,513 views

fun funner funnest

Fun, Funner, Funnest

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

246,670 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.

234,320 views

Word of the Day

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'Incongruous' — Video Word of the Day 11/14/2019

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

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'Gambit' — Video Word of the Day 11/13/2019

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

New!

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'Bruit' — Video Word of the Day 11/12/2019

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

New!

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'Armistice' — Video Word of the Day 11/11/2019

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

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'Lyric' — Video Word of the Day 11/8/2019

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

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'Espouse' — Video Word of the Day 11/7/2019

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

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See all Videos

Test Your Vocabulary

Pass the Little Ribbons: A Pasta Word Quiz

Match the pasta to its meaning in English: Rotelle

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ

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

TAKE THE QUIZ