Legendary figures and the words that define them
Celebrated writers share their quest to find the right words
We're gonna stop you right there
What about Day Tomorrow?
And how did it get that name?
Word Icons
New!
And is one more correct than the others?
209,418 views
No one calls it the Merriam-Webster comma. Why?
454,623 views
There, there. We'll sort it out.
104,189 views
The awkward case of 'his or her'
265,934 views
No other common verb follows the pattern of _sneak_…_snuck_. And no one's quite sure why.
71,846 views
They started as the same word, but their meanings have drifted apart over time.
54,546 views
Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.
363,860 views
'Poets laureate'? 'Court-martials'? The curious history of postpositive adjectives in English.
290,210 views
Why does it sound strange to say 'funner' or 'funnest?'
265,085 views
Why is pig meat called 'pork' and cow meat called 'beef?' Because English took on a big serving of French words following the Norman Conquest.
547,705 views
Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings
157,009 views
How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.
41,258 views
The story of those iconic illustrations.
24,457 views
Soop, wimmen, and headake did not make the cut
162,450 views
We'll help you figure it out at once
886,704 views
796,083 views
How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts
453,151 views
Some imitative words are more surprising than others
324,833 views
And who put it there, anyway?
323,879 views
We're intent on clearing it up
315,312 views
Fashionable Words
You know what it looks like… but what is it called?
Pick the best words!
