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Est. 1828
Wordplay
For the love of language
The Longest Long Words List
21 words with 21 letters or more
Pilfer: How to Play and Win
Welcome to our newest word game
15 Bird Sounds and the Birds Who Make Them
15 bird sounds, and the birds who make them
Arts & Culture
Obscure & Fun
Foreign
Games & Hobbies
Insults
Science & Nature
Word History
Popular
Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine
Raise a glass to some full-bodied vocabulary.
8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
Our maraca shake brings all the hautbois to the yard
10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)
Look what you made us do
9 Superb Owl Words
Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all? We do!
15 Words That Used to Mean Something Different
Including the secret history of 'secretary'
10 Words for Lesser-Known Games and Sports
Are you ready for some stoolball?
Your Favorite Band is in the Dictionary
10 bands you can look up and queue up
Words for Lazy People and Laziness
Indolence, Malingerer, Draffsack: the right word for when you just don't have the energy
Word Choices
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
Arts & Culture
See All
The Words of the Week - Dec. 6
Lookups from California, South Korea, and the Pleistocene
12 Words and Phrases for Romantic Relationships
This list warms the cockles of our hearts
Where Does the Expression 'Throw Someone Under the Bus' Come From?
Let's blame the British
'Gaslighting,' 'Woke,' 'Democracy,' and Other Top Lookups
We know you're going to look these up
Top Banana, Kingpin, and Other Nicknames for Important People
Big wigs, big enchiladas, and big shots
See All
Obscure & Fun
Obscure & Fun
Words For Things You Didn't Know Have Names, Vol. 4
Sitzmarks! Jarkmen!! Pronking!!!
Read
Nine Obscure Beer-Related Words
Crack open a cold (or warm and eggy) one and enjoy
Read
Ahoy! Ten Words for Talking Like a Pirate
Whether on International Talk Like a Pirate Day or any day!
Read
Words That are Their Own Opposites
Do I contradict myself?
Read
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12 Words from the Wrong Side of the Law
Crime doesn't pay, but vocabulary might
Foreign
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10 English Words from Dutch
Learn how to tell your caboodle from your caboose
10 of Our Favourite British Words
Please don't whinge about being knackered, you prat.
'In Vino Veritas' and Other Latin Phrases to Live By
Top 10 Latin Phrases
10 Words from Nahuatl, the Language of the Aztecs
Avocado, chocolate, and more
A Guide to the Names of French Sauces
17 saucy terms (and how to say them)
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Games & Hobbies
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A Player's Guide to 'Q' without 'U' Words
Remember this and win.
Know Your Baseball Idioms
Our national pastime. No, the other one.
Are You Ready for Some Football (Words)?
So you can do more than smile and nod when talking about the big game
The Scoop on 'The Proof Is in the Pudding'
A delicious question
Why 'Love' Means "Nothing"
In tennis. This is about tennis.
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Insults
Insults
Not Nice and Too Nice: A Collection of Dysphemisms and Euphemisms
Words to soothe and annoy
Read
Rare and Amusing Insults, Volume 3
Useful words for everyday interactions
Read
Suck-ups, Lickspittles, and Toadeaters: Words for Flatterers and Sycophants
The exact words you need to describe that person at work
Read
Rare and Amusing Insults: Cockalorum, Snollygoster, and More
How dare you called me a ninnyhammer you pillock!
Read
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Better Ways to Say "This Sucks"
Your day is the worst. Your vocabulary is the best.
Science & Nature
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7 Common Idioms That Come from Chickens
Don't ask us which came first
12 Bird Names that Sound Like Compliments
From the godwits at your favorite dictionary
'Opossum,' O Lovely 'Possum'
On a marsupial with various names
'Blue Moon,' 'Wolf Moon,' and Other Moons to Look for Throughout the Year
More moons than you can shake a stick at
What is a 'coulrophobe' so afraid of?
Unusual Phobias, Vol. 2
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Word History
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Quick: Read This!
'Quick' once had a very different meaning
What does it mean to 'endorse' a presidential candidate?
It's kind of like "endorsing" a check
Funner, Stupider, and Other Words That Are in Fact Real
Don't argue with the dictionary
Etymologies for Every Day of the Week
The sun, the moon, four gods, and a goddess.
14 Words Inspired by Dogs
A lexicographer's best friend
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