List of Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year
Encyclopedia
Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year, a list published annually by the American dictionary-publishing company Merriam-Webster
, features the ten words of the year
from the English language. This list started in 2003, and is published at the end of each year. At first, Merriam-Webster determined its contents by analyzing page hits
and popular searches on its website. Since 2006, the list has been determined by an online poll and by suggestions from visitors to the site.
As of 2008, only two of Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year were already dictionary entries at the time they earned their status (democracy in 2003 and integrity in 2005). 2004's Top Word, blog, was added to dictionaries later. The words for 2006 and 2007, truthiness and w00t, respectively, have not made it to the traditional Merriam-Webster printed dictionary as of 2008. The Words of the Year usually reflect events that happened during the years the lists were published. For example, the Word of the Year for 2005, integrity, showed that the general public had an immense interest in defining this word amid ethics scandals in the United States government, corporations, and sports. The Word of the Year for 2004, blog, was looked up on the Online Dictionary the most as blog
s began to influence mainstream media. In 2006, Merriam-Webster received a lot of publicity as truthiness
, a word coined by Stephen Colbert
on The Colbert Report, topped the list.
John Morse, president of Merriam-Webster, pointed out that "the most frequently looked up words are not the newest words, not the latest high-tech terms, not the cool new slang." Instead, these top ten words correlated to breaking news stories and world events in 2003. The top word democracy correlated to the invasion of Iraq
and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein
's regime, quarantine to a SARS epidemic, and matrix to the film The Matrix Revolutions
.
In 2004, blogs were becoming highly popular and began to influence mainstream media. During the twelve-month period that decides the word of the year, the term blog had the most requests for a definition or explanation, so a new entry was placed in Merriam-Webster's printed dictionary for 2005. The other words on this list, such as incumbent, electoral, and partisan, were associated with major news events, such as the United States presidential election of 2004
or natural disasters that hit the US.
For 2005, integrity was the most looked-up word in Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary. According to John Morse, President of Merriam-Webster, the word integrity slowly moved up the list to first place in 2005 because ethics scandals emerged around the United States regarding corporations, government, and sports, such as the CIA leak investigations, scandals in Congress, and disgraced athletes.
Hurricane Katrina
, the bird flu, and the death of Pope John Paul II
renewed public interest in words such as refugee, tsunami, pandemic, conclave, and levee. The word refugee was also a candidate for the American Dialect Society
's Word of the Year
; according to Morse, the term gained notoriety as the entire country debated with how to describe people affected by Hurricane Katrina. The debate, over whether refugee was the proper term to describe displaced residents or whether the term was pejorative, summoned several Americans to look up the word in their dictionaries to form their own opinion. The word refugee received more queries in one month than most words in an entire year. The word insipid made the Top 10 list after Simon Cowell
described Anthony Fedorov
's performance in American Idol
as "pleasant, safe, and a little insipid." At number 10 is inept, a word that received a lot of attention after the days when President
George W. Bush
delivered a live prime time news conference that came to an awkward end when some television networks cut him off to return to their regularly scheduled programs.
After online visitors chose truthiness in a five-to-one majority vote as the Word of the Year of 2006, Merriam-Webster received a large amount of publicity. This was the first year in which Merriam-Webster used online voting to decide its Word of the Year. The term was created by Stephen Colbert
on Comedy Central
in The Colbert Reports first episode, which took place on October 2005, to describe things that he fervently believes to be the case regardless of the facts. In addition, truthiness became the American Dialect Society
's Word of the Year
for 2005.
John Morse, President of Merriam-Webster, said that the word w00t was a good choice because it "blends whimsy and new technology". Spelled with two zeros in leetspeak, w00t reflects a new direction in the English language led by a generation raised on video games and cell phone text messaging
. While the word itself has not been published in its printed dictionary yet, Merriam-Webster claims that its presence in the Open Dictionary and the honors it's been awarded gives w00t a better chance at becoming an official word. It originally became popular in online gaming forums and is now used as an expression of excitement and joy. The word is also considered an acronym in the online gaming world for the phrase We owned the other team. This word was also used in the 1990 film Pretty Woman
when Julia Roberts
exclaimed "Woot, woot, woot!" to her date's friends during a polo match.
Placing second in 2007's contest, facebook created an unofficial verb out of the website Facebook
. Founded in 2004, Facebook is a social network that allows its users to create a profile page and forge links with other friends and acquaintances.
Merriam-Webster
Merriam–Webster, which was originally the G. & C. Merriam Company of Springfield, Massachusetts, is an American company that publishes reference books, especially dictionaries that are descendants of Noah Webster’s An American Dictionary of the English Language .Merriam-Webster Inc. has been a...
, features the ten words of the year
Word of the year
The word of the year, sometimes capitalized as Word of the Year and abbreviated WOTY or WotY, refers to any of various assessments as to the most important word or expression in the public sphere during a specific year....
from the English language. This list started in 2003, and is published at the end of each year. At first, Merriam-Webster determined its contents by analyzing page hits
Hit (internet)
A hit is a request to a web server for a file . When a web page is uploaded from a server the number of "hits" or "page hits" is equal to the number of files requested. Therefore, one page load does not always equal one hit because often pages are made up of other images and other files which stack...
and popular searches on its website. Since 2006, the list has been determined by an online poll and by suggestions from visitors to the site.
As of 2008, only two of Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year were already dictionary entries at the time they earned their status (democracy in 2003 and integrity in 2005). 2004's Top Word, blog, was added to dictionaries later. The words for 2006 and 2007, truthiness and w00t, respectively, have not made it to the traditional Merriam-Webster printed dictionary as of 2008. The Words of the Year usually reflect events that happened during the years the lists were published. For example, the Word of the Year for 2005, integrity, showed that the general public had an immense interest in defining this word amid ethics scandals in the United States government, corporations, and sports. The Word of the Year for 2004, blog, was looked up on the Online Dictionary the most as blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s began to influence mainstream media. In 2006, Merriam-Webster received a lot of publicity as truthiness
Truthiness
Truthiness is a "truth" that a person claims to know intuitively "from the gut" or that it "feels right" without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts....
, a word coined by Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
on The Colbert Report, topped the list.
Selection process
When the Word of the Year was started in 2003, Merriam-Webster determined which words would appear on the list by analyzing page hits and popular searches to its web site. For example, the 2003 and 2004 lists were determined by online hits to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and Online Thesaurus and toMerriam-WebsterCollegiate.com. Since 2006, Merriam-Webster changed this practice, and the list was determined by an online poll among words that were suggested by visitors to the site. Visitors were requested to vote for one entry out of a list of twenty words and phrases. The list consisted of the words and phrases that were frequently looked-up on the site and those that were submitted by many readers.2003
| Rank | Word | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| |
democracy | (noun Noun In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of... ) State governed by the people or by officials elected by the people. |
| |
quagmire | (noun) Soft, muddy land; a predicament |
| |
quarantine | (noun) Period of time in which a person, animal, or ship that could possibly be carrying infection is kept apart; a period of 40 days. |
| |
matrix | (noun) Something from which something else originates, develops, or takes form; a mold or die; an electroplated impression of a phonograph record used to make duplicate records. |
| (noun in biology Biology Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines... ) The substance in which tissue cells are embedded. |
||
| (noun in math) The arrangement of a set of quantities in rows and columns. | ||
| (noun in geology Geology Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates... ) Fine-grained rock in which fossils, crystals, or gems are embedded. |
||
| |
marriage | (noun) Legally uniting a man and a woman as husband and wife; wedlock; a close union or a wedding. |
| |
slog | (verb Verb A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive... ) To hit hard or beat heavily; to toil; walk or plod slowly. |
| (noun) Laborious work; long, tiring walk or march; a heavy blow. | ||
| |
gubernatorial | (adjective Adjective In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified.... ) Of or relating to a governor Governor A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state... . |
| |
plagiarism | (noun) The act of stealing from another author's works. |
| |
outage | (noun) Something lost after delivery or storage; temporary suspension of an operation, especially electric power. |
| |
batten | (verb) To grow fat, to feed greedily, or to live in luxury at the expense of others; to bolster or fasten with battens. |
| (noun) A strip fixed to something to hold it firm. |
John Morse, president of Merriam-Webster, pointed out that "the most frequently looked up words are not the newest words, not the latest high-tech terms, not the cool new slang." Instead, these top ten words correlated to breaking news stories and world events in 2003. The top word democracy correlated to the invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
's regime, quarantine to a SARS epidemic, and matrix to the film The Matrix Revolutions
The Matrix Revolutions
The Matrix Revolutions is a 2003 American science fiction film and the third installment of The Matrix trilogy. The film was released six months following The Matrix Reloaded. The film was written and directed by the Wachowski brothers and released simultaneously in sixty countries on November 5,...
.
2004
| Rank | Word | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| |
blog | (noun Noun In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of... ) Online journal where the writer presents a record of activities, thoughts, or beliefs. |
| incumbent | (noun) A person that possesses an ecclesiastical benefice or other office. | |
| (adjective Adjective In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified.... ) Lying on; resting on a person, obligatory. |
||
| |
electoral | (adjective) Pertaining to electors or elections; consisting of electors. |
| insurgent | (noun) A person who rebels or rises against authority. | |
| (adjective) Rising in revolt, refusing to accept authority. | ||
| |
hurricane | (noun) Violent, tropical cyclone of the western North Atlantic with wind speeds at or above 72 miles per hour (32.2 m/s); most severe, intense storm; anything that suggests a violent storm. |
| |
cicada | (noun) An insect of the family Family (biology) In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the... Cicadidae. |
| |
peloton | (noun) The main group of riders in a bicycle race. |
| |
partisan | (noun) A supporter of a cause, person, or group, especially a supporter with biased allegiance; a member of a military group harassing an enemy, especially a group engaged in guerilla warfare against an occupying army. |
| |
sovereignty | (noun) Government free from external control; royal authority; a state's authority to govern another state. |
| |
defenestration | (noun) The act of throwing a thing or person out a window. |
In 2004, blogs were becoming highly popular and began to influence mainstream media. During the twelve-month period that decides the word of the year, the term blog had the most requests for a definition or explanation, so a new entry was placed in Merriam-Webster's printed dictionary for 2005. The other words on this list, such as incumbent, electoral, and partisan, were associated with major news events, such as the United States presidential election of 2004
United States presidential election, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
or natural disasters that hit the US.
2005
| Rank | Word | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| |
integrity | (noun Noun In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of... ) Adherence to moral or ethic principles; incorruptibility. |
| |
refugee | (noun) One who flees for protection from danger or distress; one who flees to another country or place for safety. |
| |
contempt | (noun) Willful disobedience to or open disrespect of a court, judge or legislative body. |
| |
filibuster | (noun) Using delaying tactics in an attempt to delay or prevent action, especially in a legislative assembly. |
| |
insipid | (adjective Adjective In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified.... ) Lacking in taste; vapid, flat, dull, heavy, and spiritless. |
| |
tsunami | (noun) Very large ocean wave caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption. |
| |
pandemic | (noun) Occurring over a wide geographic area; affecting a large population. |
| |
conclave | (noun) Assembly of cardinals Cardinal (Catholicism) A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and... to elect the Roman Catholic Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity... pope Pope The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle... ; a secret assembly. |
| |
levee | (noun) A formal reception of guests, as in a royal court; a pier that provides a place to land at a river; an embankment that was made to prevent a river from overflowing. |
| |
inept | (adjective) Not apt or fitting, inappropriate; lack of judgement, sense, or reason; foolish; bungling or clumsy; incompetent. |
For 2005, integrity was the most looked-up word in Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary. According to John Morse, President of Merriam-Webster, the word integrity slowly moved up the list to first place in 2005 because ethics scandals emerged around the United States regarding corporations, government, and sports, such as the CIA leak investigations, scandals in Congress, and disgraced athletes.
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, the bird flu, and the death of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
renewed public interest in words such as refugee, tsunami, pandemic, conclave, and levee. The word refugee was also a candidate for the American Dialect Society
American Dialect Society
The American Dialect Society, founded in 1889, is a learned society "dedicated to the study of the English language in North America, and of other languages, or dialects of other languages, influencing it or influenced by it." The Society publishes the academic journal, American Speech...
's Word of the Year
Word of the year
The word of the year, sometimes capitalized as Word of the Year and abbreviated WOTY or WotY, refers to any of various assessments as to the most important word or expression in the public sphere during a specific year....
; according to Morse, the term gained notoriety as the entire country debated with how to describe people affected by Hurricane Katrina. The debate, over whether refugee was the proper term to describe displaced residents or whether the term was pejorative, summoned several Americans to look up the word in their dictionaries to form their own opinion. The word refugee received more queries in one month than most words in an entire year. The word insipid made the Top 10 list after Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
described Anthony Fedorov
Anthony Fedorov
Anatoliy Vladimirovich "Anthony" Fedorov is an American singer who was the fourth place finalist on the fourth season of the American Idol.- Biography :...
's performance in American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
as "pleasant, safe, and a little insipid." At number 10 is inept, a word that received a lot of attention after the days when President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
delivered a live prime time news conference that came to an awkward end when some television networks cut him off to return to their regularly scheduled programs.
2006
| Rank | Word | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| |
truthiness | (noun Noun In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of... ) Truth coming from the gut, not books; preferring to believe what you wish to believe, rather than what is known to be true. |
| |
(verb Verb A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive... ) Using the Google Google Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program... search engine to look up information about a person. |
|
| |
decider | (noun) A person who settles things in dispute or doubt. |
| war | (noun) A contest of armed forces between nations, countries, or parties. | |
| (verb) To be in conflict or state of opposition. | ||
| (adjective Adjective In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified.... ) Related to, of, belonging to, used in, or due to such a contest or conflict. |
||
| insurgent | (noun) A person who rebels or rises against authority. | |
| (adjective) Rising in revolt, refusing to accept authority. | ||
| |
terrorism | (noun) Use of violence or threats to intimidate or coerce a person, especially for political purposes. |
| |
vendetta | (noun) A blood feud; prolonged and bitter feud, rivalry, or contention. |
| |
sectarian | (adjective) Pertaining to factions united under one doctrine, such as religious denominations; narrow-minded. |
| |
quagmire | (noun) Soft, wet, boggy land; a situation from which extrication is difficult. |
| |
corruption | (noun) Lack of integrity or honesty; decay; impairment of virtue and moral principles; undermining moral integrity; inducement by a public official with improper means to violate duties, for example, bribery. |
After online visitors chose truthiness in a five-to-one majority vote as the Word of the Year of 2006, Merriam-Webster received a large amount of publicity. This was the first year in which Merriam-Webster used online voting to decide its Word of the Year. The term was created by Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
in The Colbert Reports first episode, which took place on October 2005, to describe things that he fervently believes to be the case regardless of the facts. In addition, truthiness became the American Dialect Society
American Dialect Society
The American Dialect Society, founded in 1889, is a learned society "dedicated to the study of the English language in North America, and of other languages, or dialects of other languages, influencing it or influenced by it." The Society publishes the academic journal, American Speech...
's Word of the Year
Word of the year
The word of the year, sometimes capitalized as Word of the Year and abbreviated WOTY or WotY, refers to any of various assessments as to the most important word or expression in the public sphere during a specific year....
for 2005.
2007
| Rank | Word | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| |
w00t | (interjection Interjection In grammar, an interjection or exclamation is a word used to express an emotion or sentiment on the part of the speaker . Filled pauses such as uh, er, um are also considered interjections... ) Expressing joy. |
| |
(verb Verb A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive... ) To post a picture or other information to profile pages at the trademarked social networking website Facebook Facebook Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as... . |
|
| |
conundrum | (noun Noun In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of... ) A riddle whose answer is or involves a pun Pun The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,... ; question or problem with only a conjectural answer; intricate and difficult problem. |
| |
quixotic | (adjective Adjective In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified.... ) Foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals; loftily romantic or extravagantly chivalrous; capricious or unpredictable.. |
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blamestorm | (verb) To hold a discussion in order to assign blame to a person for a failure. |
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sardoodledom | (noun) "A play with an overly contrived and melodramatic plot." |
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apathetic | (adjective) No feeling or passion, indifferent. |
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Pecksniffian | (adjective) Hypocritically benevolent. |
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hypocrite | (noun) Person who pretends to have virtues, beliefs, or principles that he or she does not actually possess. |
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charlatan | (noun) A person who pretends to have more knowledge and skill than he or she actually possesses. |
John Morse, President of Merriam-Webster, said that the word w00t was a good choice because it "blends whimsy and new technology". Spelled with two zeros in leetspeak, w00t reflects a new direction in the English language led by a generation raised on video games and cell phone text messaging
Text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
. While the word itself has not been published in its printed dictionary yet, Merriam-Webster claims that its presence in the Open Dictionary and the honors it's been awarded gives w00t a better chance at becoming an official word. It originally became popular in online gaming forums and is now used as an expression of excitement and joy. The word is also considered an acronym in the online gaming world for the phrase We owned the other team. This word was also used in the 1990 film Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy film set in Los Angeles, California. Written by J.F. Lawton and directed by Garry Marshall, this motion picture features Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and also Hector Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles. Roberts played the only...
when Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman , which grossed $464 million worldwide...
exclaimed "Woot, woot, woot!" to her date's friends during a polo match.
Placing second in 2007's contest, facebook created an unofficial verb out of the website Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
. Founded in 2004, Facebook is a social network that allows its users to create a profile page and forge links with other friends and acquaintances.
2008
| Rank | Word | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| |
bailout | (noun Noun In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of... ) A rescue from financial distress. |
| |
vet | (verb Verb A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive... ) To provide veterinary care for an animal or medical care for a person; to subject a person or animal to a physical examination or checkup; to subject to expert appraisal or correction; to evaluate for possible approval or acceptance. |
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socialism Socialism Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,... |
(noun) economic or political theory advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods; society in which there is no private property; a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done. |
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maverick | (noun) unbranded range animal, especially a motherless calf; an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party. |
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bipartisan | (adjective Adjective In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified.... ) of, relating to, or involving members of two parties; specifically, marked by or involving cooperation, agreement, and compromise between two major political parties. |
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trepidation | (noun) A tremor; apprehension. |
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precipice | (noun) Very steep or overhanging place; a hazardous situation. |
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rogue | (noun) Vagrant or tramp; dishonest, worthless, or mischievous person; horse inclined to shirk or misbehave; individual with a chance and usually inferior biological variation. |
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misogyny Misogyny Misogyny is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. Philogyny, meaning fondness, love or admiration towards women, is the antonym of misogyny. The term misandry is the term for men that is parallel to misogyny... |
(noun) Hatred of women. |
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turmoil | (noun) a state or condition of extreme confusion, agitation, or commotion. |
2009
| Rank | Word | Definition |
|---|---|---|
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admonish | (verb Verb A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive... ) to express warning or disapproval to especially in a gentle, earnest, or solicitous manner |
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emaciated | (verb Verb A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive... ) to have wasted away physically |
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empathy | (noun Noun In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of... ) the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner; also : the capacity for this |
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furlough | (noun Noun In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of... ) a leave of absence from duty granted especially to a soldier; also : a document authorizing such a leave of absence. |
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inaugurate | (verb Verb A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive... ) to induct into an office with suitable ceremonies |
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nugatory | (adjective Adjective In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified.... ) of little or no consequence |
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pandemic | (adjective Adjective In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified.... ) occurring over a wide geographic area and affecting an exceptionally high proportion of the population |
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philanderer | (noun Noun In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of... ) : one who has casual or illicit sex with a woman or with many women |
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repose | (verb Verb A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive... ) to lie at rest |
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rogue | (adjective Adjective In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified.... ) corrupt, dishonest |