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?
207,398 views
No one calls it the Merriam-Webster comma. Why?
454,512 views
There, there. We'll sort it out.
104,117 views
The awkward case of 'his or her'
265,825 views
No other common verb follows the pattern of _sneak_…_snuck_. And no one's quite sure why.
71,649 views
They started as the same word, but their meanings have drifted apart over time.
54,335 views
Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.
363,522 views
'Poets laureate'? 'Court-martials'? The curious history of postpositive adjectives in English.
290,088 views
Why does it sound strange to say 'funner' or 'funnest?'
264,896 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.
547,596 views
Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings
156,910 views
How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.
41,199 views
The story of those iconic illustrations.
24,373 views
Soop, wimmen, and headake did not make the cut
162,399 views
We'll help you figure it out at once
886,659 views
795,324 views
How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts
453,016 views
Some imitative words are more surprising than others
324,726 views
And who put it there, anyway?
323,070 views
We're intent on clearing it up
315,195 views
Commonly Misspelled Words Vol. 2 Quiz
Hear a word and type it out. How many can you get right?
Pick the best words!