play word of the year 2015 video
Words of the Year

2015 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

Editor Peter Sokolowski talks about our Word of the Year selections.



The words people look up show our curiosity, and the lookups are just the beginning of reflection on and discussion of the topics that are on our minds.

See how we select our Word of the Year, along with the full list of words.

And get details about all the lookups, including the events that triggered them, at our Word of the Year Gallery.

Up next

play word of the year 2015 video
2015 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

 

Peter Sokolowski talks about the year's selections

play onomatopoeia video
A Look at Uncommon Onomatopoeia

 

Some imitative words are more surprising than others

play serial comma
The Serial Comma Explained

 

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

play alt-5db61f2bd1cc5
How Do You Pronounce 'Groceries'?

 

Is there one standard way?

play semantic bleaching text on white background
What Is 'Semantic Bleaching'?

 

How 'literally' can mean "figuratively"

play there theyre their video
There, They're, Their

 

There, there. We'll sort it out.

play ismo merriam webster one
Some Odd Words with ISMO: "The One-derful Won"

 

Comedian ISMO tries to figure out 'one' and 'two'