Tag Archive: New Words

The following new words have been recognized by the Oxford , Cambridge and Merriam-Webster dictionaries over the course of 2014.

Bisocial (adj.): people who spend a good deal of their time in a social setting with their face in a smart phone instead of interacting with the humans around them.

Clickbait (n.) gimmicks or headlines aimed to exploit the “curiosity gap”, providing just enough information to make the reader curious, but not enough to satisfy their curiosity without clicking through to the linked content.

Vape (n.) an electronic cigarette  or similar device; (v.) inhale and exhale the vapor produced by an electronic cigarette  or similar device.

Tweep (n.) a person who uses the Twitter online message service to send and receive tweets

Bae (n., slang): a term of endearment for one’s romantic partner, likely a shortening of baby or babe.  The word can also be used as an adjective to describe something good or cool.

Budtender (n.): someone who works at a medical marijuana dispensary or retail marijuana shop.

Normcore (n.): a fashion movement in which ordinary, unfashionable clothing is worn as a deliberate statement.

Slacktivist (n.): one who engages in digital activism on the Web which is regarded as requiring little time or involvement.

Catfish (n.): a person who sets up a false personal profile on a social networking site for fraudulent or deceptive purposes.

Freegan (n.):  an activist who scavenges for free food (as in waste receptacles at stores and restaurants) as a means of reducing consumption of resources

Fracking: (n.): the injection of fluid into shale beds at high pressure in order to free up petroleum resources (such as oil or natural gas)

Gamification (n.):  the process of adding games or gamelike elements to something (as a task) so as to encourage participation

Hashtag (n.): a word or phrase preceded by the symbol # that classifies or categorizes the accompanying text (such as a tweet).

Pho (n.):   a soup made of beef or chicken broth and rice noodles [Orig. Vietnam]

Poutine (n.):  a dish of French fries covered with brown gravy and cheese curds [Orig. Canada]

Selfie (n.):  an image of oneself taken by oneself using a digital camera especially for posting on social networks

Steampunk (n.):  science fiction dealing with 19th-century societies dominated by historical or imagined steam-powered technology

Turducken (n.) a boneless chicken stuffed into a boneless duck stuffed into a boneless turkey

Turnt (n.)  crazy, wild, or unhinged, usually in a good way.

The following new words have been recognized by the Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries over the course of 2013.

binge-watch, v.: to watch multiple episodes of a television programme in rapid succession, typically by means of DVDs or digital streaming.

bitcoin, n.: a digital currency in which transactions can be performed without the need for a central bank.

buzzworthy, adj.: likely to arouse the interest and attention of the public, either by media coverage or word of mouth.

dappy, adj.: silly, disorganized, or lacking concentration.

digital detox, n.: a period of time during which a person refrains from using electronic devices such as smartphones or computers, regarded as an opportunity to reduce stress and focus on social interaction in the physical world.

emoji, n: a small digital image or icon used to express an idea or emotion.

FOMO, n.: fear of missing out: anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere.

jorts, pl. n.: denim shorts.

olinguito, n.:  small furry mammal discovered (August 2013) in mountain forests in Colombia and Ecuador, the smallest member of the raccoon family. It was described as looking like a cross between a teddy bear and a domestic cat.

phubbing, n. :the act of snubbing someone in a social setting by looking at your phone instead of paying attention.

poshitis,  n.: back pain as a result of carrying a big bag fashionably, in the crook of the arm.

schmeat, n.: a form of meat produced synthetically from biological tissue. [ORIGIN early 21st century: perhaps influenced by the use of ‘ schm’ as a disparaging or dismissive exclamation (e.g. fancy schmancy)]

selfie, n: a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.

showrooming, n. The practice of visiting a shop or shops in order to examine a product before buying it online at a lower price.

TL;DR, abbrev.: ‘too long didn’t read’: used as a dismissive response to a lengthy online post, or to introduce a summary of a lengthy post.

twerk, v.: dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance.

vom, v. & n: (be) sick; vomit.

If you think I’m making this up, have a look at the following words that were officially recognized by mainstream dictionaries last year:

Bucket list: a list of things that one has not done before but wants to do before dying

Yolo:  an acronym popularised in social media for “you only live once”.

Cloud computing: storing and sharing your computer data and applications on the internet as opposed to on your own computer.

Earworm: a song or melody that keeps repeating in one’s mind

F-bomb: a lighthearted and printable version of mother of all four letter euphemisms.

Mummy porn: the genre exemplified by the best-selling 50 Shades book series,

Sexting: the sending of sexually explicit messages or images by cell phone

Oojamaflip: a thing whose name is temporarily forgotten.

Verbal diarrhoea: a tendency to speak at excessive length.

Floordrobe: a pile of clothes left on the floor of a room.

Hangry: irritable as a result of feeling hungry.

Omnishambles:  A situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged, characterized by a string of blunders and miscalculations.

Squadoosh: nothing.

• boomerang child: a young adult who returns to live at his or her family home especially for financial reasons
• bunga bunga: A phrase of indeterminate origin and meaning, often used in reference to the sexual exploits of Silvio Berlusconi, former prime minister of Italy.
• crowdsourcing: the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community.
• fist bump: a gesture in which two people bump their fists together (as in greeting or celebration)
• helicopter parent: a parent who is overly involved in the life of his or her child
• humblebrag: to describe the kind of fake humility that we often hear from celebrities when they’re tweeting and talking about how tough their lives are.
• robocall: a telephone call from an automated source that delivers a prerecorded message to a large number of people

Here are some new words from 2010 to add to your lexicon for small talk in the new year.

Nominations for (American Dialect Society`s) 2010 Word of the Year

• spillion: An immense number, especially for fluid measures. Also spillionaire, a person made rich by money from BP’s cleanup fund.
• gate rape: The invasive new airport pat-down procedure; or enhanced pat-down, the politically correct label that the American Government assigned to the controversial new frisking procedure.
• kinetic event: Pentagon spineech [my invention] term for violent attacks on troops in Afghanistan.
• hacktivism: Using computer hacking skills as a form of political or social activism.
• skyaking: Jumping out of a plane in a kayak.
• gleek: A fan of the TV show “Glee”
• vuvuzela: South African plastic trumpet used by fans during the FIFA World Cup matches.

See their full list

Words officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2010

• social media websites and applications used for social networking
• defriend another term for unfriend (remove someone from a list of friends or contacts on a social networking site)
• hikikomori the abnormal avoidance of social contact, typically by adolescent males (in Japan)
• staycation holiday spent in one’s home country
• buzzkill a person or thing that has a depressing or dispiriting effect
• freemium a business model, especially on the Internet, whereby basic services are provided free of charge while more advanced features must be paid for
• frenemy a person with whom one is friendly despite a fundamental dislike or rivalry
• bromance a close but non-sexual relationship between two men

See their full list