Dictionaries are living documents that are updated with new words each year. Recently, Merriam-Webster added more than 200 terms, from social media slang (“touch grass,” meaning “to participate in normal activities in the real world especially as opposed to online experiences and interactions”) to science jargon (“heat index,” which is “derived from a calculation using air temperature and relative humidity”). But much like how sports halls of fame induct only a select few players, dictionary editors and lexicographers don’t accept every word and slang term that comes across their desk. Their process takes into account several factors, such as the term’s longevity, popularity, and purpose. Here are some basics of how a new word makes it into the dictionary.
Merriam-Webster, one of the preeminent English language dictionaries, explains: “A word gets into a dictionary when it is used by many people who all agree that it means the same thing.” That is to say, your friend group might use a word in a certain way, but that doesn’t mean it should go straight into the dictionary. It takes time for words to spread across society, and they get added only after developing a widespread, collectively understood meaning.
An early step to potentially adding a new word is compiling trusted citations of it being used in articles, books, songs, and more. Researchers scour every available source, and the Oxford English Dictionary even uses crowdsourcing to bring new terms to their attention.
Beyond widespread usage, several additional criteria must be met in order for a term to be considered a worthy dictionary entry. A word should be widely understood across many regions, serve a linguistic purpose that enhances communication, and have been used for a sustained period of time. If the word meets all these criteria, it stands a better chance of making the dictionary corpus (the lexicographical term for the body of the reference book). But if a term is known to only a small group of people, or has been popular for just a few weeks, the odds of dictionary enshrinement are much less likely.
And even if a potential candidate meets all of the criteria, that doesn’t mean it’ll make the cut. It comes down to a final decision that’s made by an editor of a specific dictionary rather than some larger committee of dictionaries. Of course, some metrics are subjective, which is why some words appear in certain dictionaries and not others. However, if a word is approved, it will show up online, be published in future print editions, and is likely to trickle through to other dictionaries.
More from our network
Word Smarts is part of Optimism, which publishes content that uplifts, informs, and inspires.
