Wordplay

 For the love of language

Word of the Year 2023 | Authentic

Merriam-Webster's 2023 Word of the Year is 'Authentic'

11 Words For Festive Gatherings

From beanfeasts to wingdings

10 Words for Other People's Children

Brats, ankle biters, and other holy terrors

word choices

(a Merriam-Webster Video Series)
Celebrated writers share their quest to find the right words.

Gabrielle Zevin

Novelist

Emily Flake

New Yorker Cartoonist

Celeste Ng

Novelist

Eli Cymet

Video Game Writer/Producer, Cuphead

Emma Straub

Novelist and Children’s Book Author

Ophira Eisenberg

Stand-Up Comic

Popular

17 of the Finest Words for Drinking

Try these out at your next happy hour

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 1

Some may be more useful than others.

Your Favorite Band is in the Dictionary

10 bands you can look up and queue up

The Words of the Week - Dec. 1

Lookups from Parliament, international relations, and advertising

7 Especially Fitting Common Names for Plants

So you don't mix up your Swiss Cheese plants with your Dutchman's Breeches

9 Whiskery Words for Facial Hair

A tonsorial tutorial

We Added 690 New Words to the Dictionary for September 2023

Ngl, this update is a big one

Rare and Amusing Insults, Volume 3

Useful words for everyday interactions

Arts & Culture

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The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Here's how all this nonsense started

What Does 'Eighty-Six' Mean?

We won't refuse you service

The Changing Meaning of 'Elope'

Read this before you elope. Or 'elope.'

The History of 'Nuclear Family'

Getting at the core of it.

17 Tasty Names of Appetizers

Enjoy. They're complimentary.
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Obscure & Fun

Obscure & Fun

12 Words from the Wrong Side of the Law

Crime doesn't pay, but vocabulary might

Foreign

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All About Latin Plurals

Check your dictionary

8 Words We Stole from French

Spoiler: We stole way more than 8

Digging Up the Latin Roots of 14 Abbreviations

Beyond 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Skunk, Bayou, and Other Words with Native American Origins

You've used more than you might think

Words With London Origins

Essential words for Anglophiles
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Games & Hobbies

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Know Your Baseball Idioms

Our national pastime. No, the other one.

The Scoop on 'The Proof Is in the Pudding'

A delicious question

A Player's Guide to 'Q' without 'U' Words

Remember this and win.

9 Idioms from American Football

Tackle these phrases from the gridiron.

What It Means to ‘Touch Base’

Just checking in with it
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Insults

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8 Significant Words for 'Insignificant'

A list that is anything but trivial

You Talk Too Much: 8 Words for the Wordy

You can't shut them up, but you can label them

7 Shakespearean Insults to Make Life More Interesting

One for each day of the week

The Origin of 'Hypocrite'

This one's surprisingly dramatic

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

A list we hope you don't find 'insipid'
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Science & Nature

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What Is a 'Coulrophobe' So Afraid Of?

Unusual Phobias, Vol. 2

'Opossum,' O Lovely 'Possum'

On a marsupial with various names

7 Common Idioms That Come from Chickens

Don't ask us which came first

12 Pairs of Commonly Confused Animal Words

The animal words went in two by two, hurrah, hurrah!

The Many Origin Stories of 'Nerd'

Theories from there to back again
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Word History

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10 Common Words with Military Origins

'Skedaddle', 'ginormous', and more

7 Good Stories That Just Aren't True

No, that's not where that word comes from

14 Words Inspired by Dogs

A lexicographer's best friend

'Ganef', 'Galoot', and 7 More Historical Slang Terms We Love

'Hella' is in hella good company

Etymologies for Every Day of the Week

The sun, the moon, four gods, and a goddess.
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