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From 'bioabsorbable' to 'bottle episode'

Finally! A use for those SAT prep classes.

You all would not have guessed some of these

There has to be a word for it.

spy camera photo

Comey comments on Barr's use of 'spy'

Latest Video

On Contractions of Multiple Words

You all would not have guessed some of these

onomatopoeia video

A Look at Uncommon Onomatopoeia

Some imitative words are more surprising than others

body parts video

When Body Parts Are Also Verbs

Head, shoulders, metaphors, and toes

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Some Odd Words with ISMO: "Junk in the Trunk"

Comedian ISMO on what separates a boot from a trunk

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Some Odd Words with ISMO: "People Tipping"

Comedian ISMO on the complexities of the word 'tip'

ismo merriam webster one

Some Odd Words with ISMO: "The One-derful Won"

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

word of the year 2018 woty behind the scenes

2018 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

How we chose 'justice'

How Do You Pronounce 'Vase'?

And is one way more correct than the others?

video ghost words

Ghost Word

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

2017 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

How we chose 'feminism'

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Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

The Serial Comma

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

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2016 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

How we chose 'surreal'

Hot Mess

"The public is a hot mess"

Malaprop

We'll tell you all the perpendiculars

alright allright video

Alright vs. All Right

Is 'alright' all right?

backward index mystery

The True Story of the Backward Index

These people needed a computer

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Is None Singular or Plural?

Or both? Or neither?

there theyre their video

There, They're, Their

There, there. We'll sort it out.

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Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?

The awkward case of 'his or her'

sneaked vs snuck video

Sneaked vs. Snuck

How the irregular 'snuck' sneaked into the dictionary

word of the year 2015 video

2015 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

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

how to read a french menu video

How to Read a French Menu

How to amuse-bouche without begging pardon for your French

further vs farther video

Further vs. Farther

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

video lay vs lie

Lay vs. Lie

Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.

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WORD OF THE DAY

putsch

a secret plot to overthrow a government

Test Your Vocabulary

Words from Greek and Latin Quiz

Which of the following months comes from a Latin word for “ten”?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

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Word Winder's CrossWinder

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

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