Lookups for the word on merriam-webster.com increased 1,740% in 2022 over the year before. But something else happened. There wasn't a single event that drove significant spikes in curiosity, as it usually goes with the chosen word of the year.
Word of the Year
Vape? Bae? Lumbersexual? What do you think the Word of the Year for 2014 should be? Share your nominations in the comments section below. And join us on Wednesday, Dec. 17, when we hear from linguists who tell us what words were on everybody's lips this year and why.
The American Dialect Society names "hashtag" the word of the year. We speak with a local linguist who helped crown the winner.