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Words of the Year

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


How did we choose feminism as our Word of the Year? Peter Sokolowski explains the data behind our decisions, and how these words reflect what was on people's minds this year.


Don't miss our in-depth look at feminism and our gallery of top trending words from 2017.

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2017 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

 

How we chose 'feminism'

play video who vs whom
Who vs. Whom

 

Good news for those who feel stuffy saying 'whom.'

play video how a word gets into the dicionary
How a Word Gets into the Dictionary

 

What our editors are looking for when they enter words in Merriam-Webster.

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When Body Parts Are Also Verbs

 

Head, shoulders, metaphors, and toes

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How Do You Pronounce 'Vase'?

 

And is one way more correct than the others?

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Video: Why Is There a 'C' in 'Indict'?

 

And who put it there, anyway?

play video its vs its
Its vs. It's

 

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

Games & Quizzes

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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 Word Game 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?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All