Wordplay

Arts & Culture (page 2)

What's so extra about 'extra-virgin'?

The technical vocabulary hiding in your kitchen cabinet

The Opposite of Déjà Vu

When the familiar becomes unrecognizable

Ten Kinds of Happiness

Joyful words from around the world

Ten More Words from Taylor Swift Songs

… Ready for them?

8 Delicious Words with Inedible Meanings

Which one is the apple of your eye?

'Gaslighting,' 'Woke,' 'Democracy,' and Other Top Lookups

We know you're going to look these up

Stay Woke

Tracing the history of 'woke'

What exactly is a 'liberal'?

No one wants a 'servile arts' degree

15 Cheffy Words for Chefs (and Everyone Else)

Including 'cheffy'

Words We’re Watching: ‘Brat’

Lexicography is so brat.

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

Look what you made us do

Word Icons

Legendary figures and the words that define them

Merriam-Webster's Short List of Gender and Identity Terms

In case you (or someone you know) has questions about what they mean

10 Words for Food with Unfortunate Names

All of them may be delicious, but one is offal

7 Words from Political Scandals

Behind the smoke-filled rooms

Top Banana, Kingpin, and Other Nicknames for Important People

Big wigs, big enchiladas, and big shots

If You Like to Complain About 'Decimate'...

You'll love to hate these other words!

'When Pigs Fly' and Other Barnyard Idioms

24 down-home turns of phrase

10 Phrases from Shakespeare

Where the "wild goose chase" comes from

11 Words Used to Great Effect by Edgar Allan Poe

The Vocabulary in the Rue Morgue

Pop Rhetoric: Our Favorites

Rhetorical devices in pop songs

The History of 'Wag the Dog'

Making a big show about it

The Left Hand of (Supposed) Darkness

It depends on what side you're coming from.

The History of 'Meme'

Meme isn't new, it dates back to the 1970s

12 Words and Phrases for Romantic Relationships

This list warms the cockles of our hearts

The Hilarious History of 'OK'

English's most successful export

Has ‘supper’ always meant ‘dinner?'

Your grandmother might answer differently.

10 Words Conjuring Hell and the Devil

Going beyond the fire and brimstone

9 Financial Words With Surprising Origins

In the beginning, 'income' simply meant "coming in"

Why do we park in the driveway and drive on the parkway?

The answer to one of life's big questions

Where does the expression 'throw someone under the bus' come from?

Let's blame the British

Where does the phrase 'barn burner' come from?

This one's pretty exciting

How 'Mardi Gras' Got Its Name

Quick: eat everything in the house.

Why Jaywalking is Called Jaywalking

The shape of the letter J has nothing to do with it

Heroin, Granola, & More: Products That Became Words

Top 10 Words from Trademarks

Bait and Switch: 10 Misleading Words for Foods

There's a reason 'mountain oysters' aren't on the seafood menu, friend

The Words of the Week - Mar. 6

Lookups from Iran, Florida, and college basketball

The Words of the Week - Feb. 27

Lookups from art, Mexico, and the Blizzard of ‘26

The Words of the Week - Feb. 20

Lookups from the Winter Olympics, Islam, and the Sierra Nevadas

The Words of the Week - Feb. 13

Lookups from the Winter Olympics, the Super Bowl, and the Epstein files

The Words of the Week - Feb. 6

Lookups from Punxsutawney, the Vatican, and Hollywood

The Words of the Week - Jan. 30

Lookups from Venezuela, Minneapolis, and Winter Storm Fern

The Words of the Week - Jan. 23

Lookups from national holidays, solar storms, and Davos

The Words of the Week - Jan. 16

Lookups from music, Minnesota, and the Pacific

The Words of the Week - Jan. 9

Lookups from Venezuela, fast food, and social media

The Words of the Week - Jan. 2

Lookups from holidays, New York City, and Switzerland

The Words of the Week - Dec. 26

Lookups from the holidays, the media, and the Internet

The Words of the Week - Dec. 19

Lookups from Hanukkah, Australia, and evolution

2025 Word of the Year: Slop

Merriam-Webster's 2025 Word of the Year is 'Slop'

The Words of the Week - Dec. 12

Lookups from yuletide, typefaces, and megamergers

The Words of the Week - Dec. 5

Lookups from social media, Southeast Asia, and the bayou

The Words of the Week - Nov. 28

Lookups from music, geography, and turkey

The Words of the Week - Nov. 21

Lookups from federal court, numismatics, and the night sky

The Words of the Week - Nov. 14

Lookups from textiles, the night sky, and Veterans Day

The Words of the Week - Nov. 7

Lookups from election day, Los Angeles, and the theater

The Words of the Week - Oct. 31

Lookups from Jamaica, Halloween, and the World Series

The Words of the Week - Oct. 24

Lookups from Paris, the White House, and our day and age

The Words of the Week - Oct. 17

Lookups from baseball, R&B, and Indigenous Peoples’ Day

The Words of the Week - Oct. 10

Lookups from calligraphy, Sweden, and the Mediterranean

The Words of the Week - Oct. 3

Lookups from lexicography, federal court, and Washington D.C.

The Words of the Week - Sept. 26

Lookups from autumn, Mars, and Fat Bear Week

The Words of the Week - Sept. 19

Lookups from the UN, the White House press pool, and the syllabus

8 Real (and Perceived) Redundant Words

This article’s got a little something something for everyone.

The Words of the Week - Sept. 12

Lookups from a scandal, Utah, and Brazil

How 7 Fruits and Veggies Got Their Names

Spoiler alert: dragon fruit doesn't come from dragons

The Words of the Week - Sept. 5

Lookups from Los Angeles, Lisbon, and Washington, D.C.

The Words of the Week - Aug. 29

Lookups from weather, court, and entertainment

The Words of the Week - Aug. 22

Lookups from music, the weather, and technology

The Words of the Week - Aug. 15

Lookups from Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C.

The Words of the Week - Aug. 8

Lookups from Texas, Major League Baseball, and bats

The Words of the Week - Aug. 1

Lookups from weather, politics, and advertising

The Words of the Week - July 25

Lookups from politics, professional wrestling, and music

The Words of the Week - July 18

Lookups from social media, the weather, and New Zealand

The Words of the Week - July 11

Lookups from Texas, social media, and the Cretaceous

The Words of the Week - July 4

Lookups from economics, the Senate, and the Fourth of July

The Words of the Week - June 27

Lookups from the weather, Iran, and New York City

The Words of the Week - June 20

Lookups from Juneteenth, politics, and Matagorda Bay

The Words of the Week - June 13

Lookups from Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and music

The Words of the Week - June 6

Lookups from Italy, social media, and the Scripps National Spelling Bee

It's Lit

An old slang word made new again

93 Common Texting Abbreviations

Common texting and messaging abbreviations

What does 'yeet' mean?

Tossing some knowledge your way

The Words of the Week - May 30

Lookups from Memorial Day, cryptocurrency, and the White House

The Words of the Week - May 23

Lookups from the White House, Capitol Hill, and Tompkins Square Park

The Words of the Week - May 16

Lookups from Mother’s Day, the White House, and the garden

The Words of the Week - May 9

Lookups from the Met Gala, the Kentucky Derby, and the Sistine Chapel

The Words of the Week - May 2

Lookups from the courts, Canada, and Amphibia

The Words of the Week - Apr. 25

Lookups from social media, deep space, and the Vatican

The Words of the Week - Apr. 18

Lookups from law, the economy, and the edge of space

The Words of the Week - Apr. 11

Lookups from Wall Street, Main Street, and politics

The Words of the Week - Apr. 4

Lookups from France, the Senate, and Saturday Night Live

The Words of the Week - Mar. 28

Lookups from politics and government

The Words of the Week - Mar. 21

Lookups from weather, government, and St. Patrick’s Day

The Words of the Week - Mar. 14

Lookups from the federal government, the North Sea, and the New York Times

The Words of the Week - Mar. 7

Lookups from New Orleans and Washington D.C.

The Words of the Week - Feb. 28

Lookups from Washington D.C., Munich, and the East River

The Words of the Week - Feb. 21

Lookups from Black History Month, quantum mechanics, and SNL

The Words of the Week - Feb. 14

Lookups from the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day, and Galentine’s Day

The Words of the Week - Feb. 7

Lookups from the trade wars, the Grammy Awards, and the high seas

The Words of the Week - Jan. 31

Lookups from sports, politics, and seismology

The Words of the Week - Jan. 24

Lookups from Washington D.C.

The Words of the Week - Jan. 17

Lookups from Capitol Hill, the White House, and California

The Words of the Week - Jan. 10

Lookups from Washington D.C., California, and Winter Storm Blair

The Words of the Week - Jan. 3

Lookups from Georgia, New Orleans, and the new year

The Words of the Week - Dec. 27

Lookups from the White House, Congress, and the holidays

The Words of the Week - Dec. 20

Lookups from law, television, and yuletide

The Words of the Week - Dec. 13

Lookups from Altoona, Washington D.C., and the beach

2024 Word of the Year: Polarization

Merriam-Webster's 2024 Word of the Year is 'Polarization'
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