ismo-merriam-webster-tip

Some Odd Words with ISMO: "People Tipping"

Comedian ISMO on the complexities of the word 'tip'

Trump Alleges Democratic 'Intransigence'

Trump cancels Davos trip.

book-parts-page

A 17-Word Look Into the Anatomy of a Book

There are a lot of chapters in this collection.

climatic-vs-climactic

On ‘Climatic’ and ‘Climactic’

One letter makes all the difference.

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Liar, Liar Quiz

Test your knowledge of words for lies, liars, and those being lied to. In other words, everyone.

Latest Video

ismo-merriam-webster-tip

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'

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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?

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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?

peter_talk_about_word_of_the_year_2016

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

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Alright vs. All Right

Is 'alright' all right?

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The True Story of the Backward Index

These people needed a computer

is-none-singular-or-plural-video

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

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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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Lay vs. Lie

Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.

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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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Webster's Dictionary of 1864

The landmark edition that transformed the way dictionaries are made.

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WORD OF THE DAY

nomothetic

involving abstract or general statements

Test Your Vocabulary

Liar, Liar Quiz

Someone who pretends to be sick in order to avoid work is a:

Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

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Word Winder's CrossWinder

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

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Ask the Editors

Word Games