SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

watercolor-squares

We're Down With You Being—or Your Being?—a Square

It's about (you? your?) having your say.

Devilish Words

Don't blame a word use error on the devil.

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Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

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Words of the Year: 1066

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

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Bannon: One of Us is Going to be a 'Hegemon'

"Something having dominant influence over others"

Latest Video

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Words of the Year: 1066

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

payday

How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

decimate-video

Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Language changes

serial-comma

The Serial Comma

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

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Is it 'I Could Care Less' or 'I Couldn't Care Less'?

Because we care

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2016 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

How we chose 'surreal'

hot-mess

Hot Mess

"The public is a hot mess"

subjunctive

How to Use the Subjunctive in English

If I were you, I'd watch this

mrs-malaprop

Malaprop

We'll tell you all the perpendiculars

alright-allright-video

Alright vs. All Right

Is 'alright' all right?

greenland-isnt-very-green-you-know

How Icy Greenland Got Its Name

Was 'Even Icier Land' taken?

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?

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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'

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Sneaked vs. Snuck

How the irregular snuck sneaked into the dictionary

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2015 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

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

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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.

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Bring vs. Take

Both words imply motion, but the difference may be all in your head

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Lay vs. Lie

Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.

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'Try and' vs. 'Try to'

When you're not sure which is right, try to remember to use 'try to.'

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Is It 'Attorney Generals' Or 'Attorneys General'?

'Poets laureate'? 'Court-martials'? The curious history of postpositive adjectives in English.

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Fun, Funner, Funnest

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

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2014 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

The inside scoop behind our 2014 Word of the Year selections.

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WORD OF THE DAY

waif

play

an extremely thin woman

Test Your Vocabulary

Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which came first?

sarcastic snarky

Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ

SCRABBLE® Sprint

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

TAKE THE QUIZ

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066

Words of the Year: 1066

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

How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless

Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals

Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

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Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

Take the quiz

Name More Food!

Test your knowledge of food vocabulary!

Take the quiz

Name That Thing

Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

Take the quiz

SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game