Merriam-Webster Just Added Hundreds of New Words to the Dictionary—Here Are 25 of Them

The editors of Merriam-Webster's dictionary know better than most people how quickly language evolves. In April 2019 alone, they added more than 640 words to the dictionary, from old terms that have developed new meanings to words that are products of the digital age.

Entertainment fans will recognize a few of the new words on Merriam-Webster's list: Buzzy (generating speculation or attention), bottle episode (an episode of a television series confined to one setting), and EGOT (winning an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony) have all received the dictionary's stamp of approval.

Some terms reflect the rise of digital devices in our everyday lives, such as unplug and screen time. Other words have been around for centuries, but started appearing in new contexts in recent years. According to Merriam-Webster, snowflake can now mean “someone who is overly sensitive," purple can describe an area split between Democrat and Republican voters, and Goldilocks can mean “an area of planetary orbit in which temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold to support life."

You can read 25 of the new words below. And for even more recent additions to the dictionary, check out Merriam-Webster's list from last September.

1. Bioabsorbable

1. Bottle episode

1. Bottom surgery

1. Buzzy

1. EGOT

1. Garbage time

1. Gender nonconforming

1. Geosmin

1. Gig economy

1. Go-cup

1. Goldilocks

1. On-brand

1. Page view

1. Peak

1. Purple

1. Vulture capitalism

1. Qubit

1. Salutogenesis

1. Screen time

1. Snowflake

1. Stan

1. Tailwind

1. Top surgery

1. Traumatology

1. Unplug