5,000 new words added to Merriam-Webster dictionary - including 'rizz', 'dad bod' and 'beast mode'

Over 5,000 new words have been added to Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, as part of the latest edition - and it includes words that have become popular in recent years.

"For the first time in over twenty years, and only the twelfth time since 1898, Merriam-Webster has published a new edition of its iconic Collegiate Dictionary," the company announced in a statement on Thursday, September 25.

Taking to Instagram, the latest edition was revealed with the caption, "We have some words for you. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. The NEW Twelfth Edition. Made of paper."

The dictionary will be released on November 18, the last edition of theirs was published in 2003.

What are some of the new words included?

Beast mode

• Definition: An extremely aggressive or energetic style or manner that someone adopts temporarily to overpower an opponent in a fight or competition.
• Example: He needed to go beast mode to crush the hot dog eating contest.

Dad bod

• Definition: A physique regarded as typical of an average father, especially one that is slightly overweight and not extremely muscular.
• Example: Harry rocked a dad bod even before the birth of his first child.

Dumbphone

• Definition: A cellphone that does not include advanced software features, such as email or an internet browser typically found on smartphones.
• Example: Want to really get lost? Destroy your smartphone, buy a burner dumbphone and head for the hills.

Farm-to-table

• Definition: Involving or advocating the direct sale and distribution of food from its point of origin to customers.
• Example: Farm-to-table, shmarm-to-table. Jack wants a Big Mac, not a pricey restaurant meal.

Hard pass

• Definition: A firm refusal or rejection of something, such as an offer.
• Example: The egg salad’s been in the sun for six hours. That’s a hard pass for me, Suzy.

Love language

• Definition: A person's characteristic means of showing love or care for another.
• Example: Charlie's dating profile says his love language is making mac and cheese. Could go either way, dude.

Petrichor

• Definition: A distinctive, earthy, usually pleasant odor that is associated with rainfall, especially when following a warm, dry period.
• Example: Molly refused to let the weather dampen her mood, especially as the petrichor reminded her of cozy rainy days past.

Rizz

• Definition: Romantic appeal or charm.
• Example: "You come here often?" Joe's rizz was way, WAY off.

Side-eye

• Definition: A sidelong glance or gaze, especially when expressing scorn, suspicion, disapproval or veiled curiosity.
• Example: Anna side-eyes every man in white socks and sandals. That's all.

Teraflop

• Definition: A unit of measure for the calculating speed of a computer equal to one trillion floating-point operations per second.
• Example: Cough up enough teraflops to let me bed rot with my PlayStation.

Elsewhere from Indy100, Uni reveals 20 'formal' words that are disappearing from use, and Dua Lipa and Simone Biles have reinvented the 2024 word of the year.

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