Binge-watch. Weak sauce. Geek out. Microaggression. Throw shade. All of these words have one thing in common, besides confusing your grandparents: They were added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary Tuesday morning.
In total, more than 1,000 words became new members of the dictionary this , and they included everything from slang (like humblebrag, defined as “to make a seemingly modest, self-critical, or casual statement or reference that is meant to draw attention to one’s admirable or impressive qualities or achievements”), to politics (a truther is “one who believes that the truth about an important subject or event is being concealed from the public by a powerful conspiracy”) and technology (botnet means “a network of computers that have been linked together by malware”).
And then there were words people already know and love, now with new definitions. The verb to ghost now means “to abruptly cut off all contact with (someone, such as a former romantic partner) by no longer accepting or responding to phone calls, instant messages, etc.” A train wreck, for example, not only refers to a literal collision of trains but also “an utter disaster or mess.”
It might seem perplexing that to throw shade — “to express contempt or disrespect for someone publicly especially by subtle or indirect insults or criticisms” — passed the same bar as supercentenarian — “a person who is 110 years old or older.” But all English words up for dictionary inclusion go through the same data-driven process, according to a blog post from Merriam-Webster.com.
“A word gets into a dictionary when it is used by many people who all agree that it means the same thing,” the blog post explained.
When words spread, dictionary editors take notice. In fact, a dictionary editor’s job is to look for new words or words that gain popularity and consider whether to add it to the dictionary’s lexicon. They look for examples about how the word’s been used, and they record each instance as a citation. Merriam-Webster has 17 million citations.
Then, editors evaluate the word based on three factors: frequent use, widespread use and meaningful use. If a word makes a splash for a few days but fades out after, it won’t be added. Dictionary words stick around. As it happens, a lot of slang sticks around too. For real.
If you’re inclined to turn your nose up at “OMG” or “meme,” you should know slang has been included in the dictionary for hundreds of years. In Elisha Cole’s 1676 “An English Dictionary,” Coles wrote in the introduction: “‘Tis no disparagement to understand the Canting Terms. It may chance to save your throat from being cut, or (at least) your Pocket from being pickt.” In other words, slang is important — street smarts are just as important as book smarts, unless you want to have your throat cut.
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