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Est. 1828
Wordplay
For the love of language
We Added 690 New Words to the Dictionary for September 2023
Ngl, this update is a big one
Another Ten Ways to Improve Your Vocabulary
Simple But Intelligent Word Choices, Vol. 3
9 More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
How to tell your butoxy from your hawsehole
Arts & Culture
Obscure & Fun
Foreign
Games & Hobbies
Insults
Science & Nature
Word History
Popular
Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5
So beautiful. So useless.
Words for Lazy People and Laziness
Indolence, Malingerer, Draffsack: the right word for when you just don't have the energy
Dice, Dice, Baby: 8 Dungeons & Dragons Words
Chaotic and good, like English itself
9 Whiskery Words for Facial Hair
A tonsorial tutorial
Etymologies for Every Day of the Week
The sun, the moon, four gods, and a goddess.
7 Common Idioms That Come from Chickens
Don't ask us which came first
Merriam-Webster's Short List of Gender and Identity Terms
In case you (or someone you know) has questions about what they mean
12 Pairs of Commonly Confused Animal Words
The animal words went in two by two, hurrah, hurrah!
Arts & Culture
See All
Why Do We Park in the Driveway and Drive on the Parkway?
The answer to one of life's big questions
10 Surprisingly Odd Food Names
The Sometimes-Sweet, Sometimes-Unsavory Story Behind Some Bizarre Foods
Pop Rhetoric: Our Favorites
Rhetorical devices in pop songs
'When Pigs Fly' and Other Barnyard Idioms
24 down-home turns of phrase
'Dumbledore', 'Hippogriff', and 11 More Real Words from Harry Potter
Muggles welcome.
See All
Obscure & Fun
Obscure & Fun
A Wicked Awesome List of New England Words
Things you may overhear when you park your car at Harvard Yard
Read
9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
Get your mind into the gutter
Read
Desiderium, and More Obscure Feeling Words
Think 'there are no words'? Think again.
Read
11 Bookish Words for Book Lovers
You'll enjoy these words more than a bibliotaph in a bookery.
Read
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12 Words from the Wrong Side of the Law
Crime doesn't pay, but vocabulary might
Foreign
See All
10 of Our Favourite British Words and Slang
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)
Giving Meaning to the Latin (and French) in 'The Exorcist'
Say "Howdy" to these Latin phrases
See All
Games & Hobbies
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Know Your Baseball Idioms
Our national pastime. No, the other one.
Why 'Love' Means "Nothing"
In tennis. This is about tennis.
12 Words From Basketball
Plus a few terms that never quite made it
19 Palindromes You Might Not Know
Learn some fun vocabulary with these palindromes!
Popular Gaming Terms Explained
Nerfs, MMORPGs, and who the final boss really is
See All
Insults
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Top 10 Sophisticated Insults
A list we hope you don't find 'insipid'
The Origin of 'Hypocrite'
This one's surprisingly dramatic
7 Shakespearean Insults to Make Life More Interesting
One for each day of the week
You Talk Too Much: 8 Words for the Wordy
You can't shut them up, but you can label them
Rare and Amusing Insults, Volume 3
Useful words for everyday interactions
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Science & Nature
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What Is a 'Coulrophobe' So Afraid Of?
Unusual Phobias, Vol. 2
Fruit vs. Vegetable
Are you sure you know which is what?
When Body Parts Are Also Verbs
Head, shoulders, metaphors, and toes
12 Words That Secretly Come from Body Parts
Anatomy As Etymology
Ten Words from the Harvest
A bumper crop for the feast.
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Word History
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7 Good Stories That Just Aren't True
No, that's not where that word comes from
10 Common Words with Military Origins
'Skedaddle', 'ginormous', and more
Why Did Yankee Doodle Call a Feather 'Macaroni'?
What's with his feathered cap?
Compound Words That Used to Make a Lot More Sense
How 'jack' met 'pot.' How 'wed' met 'lock.'
7 Run-Down Words That Have Seen Better Days
They've taken a hit but are still standing.
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