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
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The best way to find information in the dictionary
37,762 views
And is one more correct than the others?
205,701 views
No one calls it the Merriam-Webster comma. Why?
454,371 views
There, there. We'll sort it out.
103,991 views
The awkward case of 'his or her'
265,531 views
No other common verb follows the pattern of _sneak_…_snuck_. And no one's quite sure why.
71,484 views
They started as the same word, but their meanings have drifted apart over time.
54,067 views
Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.
362,907 views
'Poets laureate'? 'Court-martials'? The curious history of postpositive adjectives in English.
289,834 views
Why does it sound strange to say 'funner' or 'funnest?'
264,625 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.
547,407 views
Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings
156,806 views
How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.
41,091 views
The story of those iconic illustrations.
24,327 views
Soop, wimmen, and headake did not make the cut
162,226 views
We'll help you figure it out at once
886,583 views
794,260 views
How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts
452,704 views
Some imitative words are more surprising than others
324,552 views
And who put it there, anyway?
321,748 views
We're intent on clearing it up
315,037 views
Fashionable Words
Hear a word and type it out. How many can you get right?
Pick the best words!