Legendary figures and the words that define them
Celebrated writers share their quest to find the right words
We're gonna stop you right there
What about Day Tomorrow?
And how did it get that name?
Word Icons
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The best way to find information in the dictionary
37,620 views
And is one more correct than the others?
204,854 views
No one calls it the Merriam-Webster comma. Why?
454,253 views
There, there. We'll sort it out.
103,843 views
The awkward case of 'his or her'
265,253 views
No other common verb follows the pattern of _sneak_…_snuck_. And no one's quite sure why.
71,422 views
They started as the same word, but their meanings have drifted apart over time.
53,903 views
Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.
362,439 views
'Poets laureate'? 'Court-martials'? The curious history of postpositive adjectives in English.
289,717 views
Why does it sound strange to say 'funner' or 'funnest?'
264,430 views
Why is pig meat called 'pork' and cow meat called 'beef?' Because English took on a big serving of French words following the Norman Conquest.
547,286 views
Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings
156,740 views
How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.
41,022 views
The story of those iconic illustrations.
24,300 views
Soop, wimmen, and headake did not make the cut
162,138 views
We'll help you figure it out at once
886,494 views
793,663 views
How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts
452,470 views
Some imitative words are more surprising than others
324,408 views
And who put it there, anyway?
321,216 views
We're intent on clearing it up
314,939 views
Name That Flower
Hear a word and type it out. How many can you get right?
Pick the best words!