SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

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Kim and Kanye Might Have Hired a Surrogate Mother

From TMZ to the dictionary.

Better Ways to Say "This Sucks"

Your day is the worst. Your vocabulary is the best.

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Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Language changes

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June 2017 Words of the Day Quiz

Summer's first WOTD quiz.

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'All the Feels,' All the Time

Once more, with 'feels'

Latest Posts

Better Ways to Say "This Sucks"

Your day is the worst. Your vocabulary is the best.

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'All the Feels,' All the Time

Once more, with 'feels'

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A Pineapple Is An Apple (Kind Of)

Pineapple once had a different, more internationally common name.

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Read This to Get 'Smart'

A thinking person's guide

Words With London Origins

Essential words for Anglophiles

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Should 'Toothpaste' Be 'Teethpaste'?

Twitter users demanded an answer

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When 'Kiss' Isn't Enough

A 'peck,' a 'smouch,' a 'smackeroo'

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Get Ready To (Define) Splurge

Celebrate National Splurge Day

Words With Native American Origins

You've used more than you might think

Looking at 'Booty'

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'Satellite' Associates Become Stars

'Satellite' takes on a new old meaning.

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Grocery's Boozy History

'Grocery' once meant "barroom."

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The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Here's how all this nonsense started

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An 'Invaluable' Lesson

You can't put a price on it

9 Fanciful Words for Your Favorite Things

Words that will make you smile

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Smash Hit Packs a Punch

No one was injured in the making of this phrase

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The Redundant 'Is' Isn't Redundant

What it is is…

You're (Probably) Saying It Wrong

Even word buffs can slip up in their speech

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Of 'Nunchucks' And Nuns

If a nunchuck could chuck…

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'Recur' and 'Reoccur': A Subtle Difference

It's happening again

Become a True Dictionary Buff

Don't make the dictionary into something it is not.

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A 'Ladybug's' Spots

No, there are no gentlemanbugs

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Why Laser Doesn't Have a 'Z'

You're going to be the smartest person at laser tag

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Herb vs Spice: A Debate

If variety is the spice of life, what's the herb?

Wonderful Words That You're Not Using (Yet)

Words as delightful as they are rare

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WORD OF THE DAY

threshold

play

the point at which something begins

WORD GAMES

Take a 3-minute break and test your skills!

Which is a synonym of garner?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ

Word Winder's CrossWinder

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

TAKE THE QUIZ

Ask the Editors

Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Language changes

The Serial Comma

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

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Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

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Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

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June 2017 Words of the Day Quiz

Summer's first WOTD quiz.

Take the quiz

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Yearbook Superlatives Quiz

Is that your picture under "Largest Vocabulary"?

Take the quiz

Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz

Word Winder's CrossWinder

Word Winder's CrossWinder

A game of winding words.

Play the game