Dictionary.com has added more than 300 new words to its website, including terms originating from meme culture, social justice movements and slang.
The world’s leading online English-language dictionary added words like “yeet,” “oof,” “cultural appropriation,” “deplatform,” “Domestic terrorism,” calling someone attractive a “snack,” “zaddy” , “y’all,” “silver fox,” “slide hustle,” “long COVID.” “Aunt Jemima,” and more.
Dictionary.com’s addition of these words and phrases to its lexicon is not only significant because the site is the world’s leading resource for looking up words and phrases, the company’s lexicon also provides definitions for Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant. That means, you can now ask Alexa for the meaning of these new words and have the term explained to you.
“The latest update to our dictionary continues to mirror the world around us,” said John Kelly, the managing editor of Dictionary.com. “Long COVID, minoritize, 5G, content warning, domestic terrorism—it’s a complicated and challenging society we live in, and language changes to help us grapple with it.”
Kelly also explained how culture has influenced the dictionary’s definition of existing brands and words.