Grammar & Usage

'Jerry-built' vs. 'Jury-rigged' vs. 'Jerry-rigged'

Three terms, three strong options.

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

How to pick the right one

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

Beyond 'simile' and 'metaphor'

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

All your favorite pet peeves

Hypercorrections: Are you making these 6 common mistakes?

When your 'correction' is incorrect

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Be dashing—and do it well

Using Bullet Points ( • )

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

For example, the different ways to use them

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

A learned explanation that is not wicked hard

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

And which is the United States?

'Lose' or 'loose'?

Keep this somewhere you won't forget it

Commonly Confused

Commonly Confused

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

We promise you're not the only one who has trouble with these words

Usage Notes

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Can You End a Sentence with a Preposition?

Yes, a preposition is something you can end with.

Is 'data' singular or plural?

Information is power

Singular Nonbinary ‘They’: Is it ‘they are’ or ‘they is’?

Notes on a conjugation

Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?

The awkward case of 'his or her'

Words in Disguise: Do these seem familiar?

Some words resemble other words enough to make you think you know them. You might not.
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Spelling & Pronunciation

Spelling & Pronunciation

The Many Plurals of 'Octopus'

But which is correct?

Punctuation

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Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

The shifting role of the apostrophe

A Guide to Using Colons

We'll get to semicolons later.

To Use or Not Use the "?" in Requests

"Would you read this, please."

All About Ellipses ...

How to use them … and talk about them

The Serial Comma Explained

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?
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