play video 20014 word of the year
Words of the Year

2014 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

The inside scoop behind our 2014 Word of the Year selections.


The inside scoop behind our 2014 Word of the Year selections.

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play video 20014 word of the year
2014 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

 

The inside scoop behind our 2014 Word of the Year selections.

play ismo merriam webster one
Some Odd Words with ISMO: "The One-derful Won"

 

Comedian ISMO tries to figure out 'one' and 'two'

play video schwa
The Schwa

 

The most common vowel sound in English causes many spelling problems.

play there theyre their video
There, They're, Their

 

There, there. We'll sort it out.

play merriam-webster eggcorns title page
What Is an Eggcorn?

 

And how did it get that name?

play onomatopoeia video
A Look at Uncommon Onomatopoeia

 

Some imitative words are more surprising than others

play hot mess
Hot Mess

 

Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings