play word of the year 2015 video
Up Next
Title
CANCEL
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 hot mess
Hot Mess

 

Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings

play sneaked vs snuck video
Sneaked vs. Snuck

 

How the irregular 'snuck' sneaked into the dictionary

play cartoon-of-british-nobility
Why did Yankee Doodle call a feather 'macaroni'?

 

What's with his feathered cap?

play further vs farther video
Further vs. Farther

 

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

play hanger-hangar-illustrations
Is It 'Hanger' or 'Hangar'?

 

How to remember which is which

play fun funner funnest
Fun, Funner, Funnest

 

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

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-628f89ac49496
What’s on the Menu? Sink your teeth into these questions about food.
See All