SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

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Ivanka: "An 'Otherwise' Incredible Day"

"in other respects"

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Words of the Year: 1066

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

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes

When each letter can be seen but not heard

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The Ambiguity of Pushing 'Up' and 'Back'

When you push a meeting, where does it go?

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Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

You're going to have to memorize the dictionary again.

Latest Video

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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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How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

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

Language changes

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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'

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Hot Mess

"The public is a hot mess"

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How to Use the Subjunctive in English

If I were you, I'd watch this

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Malaprop

We'll tell you all the perpendiculars

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Alright vs. All Right

Is 'alright' all right?

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How Icy Greenland Got Its Name

Was 'Even Icier Land' taken?

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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

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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

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play

all at once

Test Your Vocabulary

Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

Which of the following is a new sense of the word bunny?

How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

TAKE THE QUIZ

Word Winder's CrossWinder

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).

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Weird Plurals

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

Word Games

young-plant-shoots

Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

You're going to have to memorize the dictionary again.

Take the quiz

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Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!

No tricks, just difficult words.

Take the quiz

How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

Take the quiz

Word Winder's CrossWinder

Word Winder's CrossWinder

A game of winding words.

Play the game