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Words Matter

Webster's Dictionary of 1864

The landmark edition that transformed the way dictionaries are made.

The landmark edition that transformed the way dictionaries are made.

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Webster's Dictionary of 1864

 

The landmark edition that transformed the way dictionaries are made.

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Drive Safe: In Praise of Flat Adverbs

 

You don't have to end all your adverbs in -ly to talk right.

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Alright vs. All Right

 

Is 'alright' all right?

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Hopefully

 

We believe the popular usage of this word is correct

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Hot Mess

 

Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings

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'Nip it in the butt' or 'Nip it in the bud'?

 

We're gonna stop you right there

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How a Word Gets into the Dictionary

 

What our editors are looking for when they enter words in Merriam-Webster.

Games & Quizzes

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Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
girl-pencil-test
Challenging Standardized Test Words Quiz Vol. 3 You’re on your own for the math section.
See All