October 2006

Report from the Open Dictionary

English speakers are constantly inventing new words, and it may take years for these words to establish themselves and get into the dictionary. In the meantime, there is Merriam-Webster's Open Dictionary, a feature on Merriam-Webster Online that allows users to submit their coinages and recent new-word discoveries. In this month's newsletter, we share some of our favorite submissions.

January 2007

Report from the Open Dictionary

We've talked before about Merriam-Webster's Open Dictionary, a feature on Merriam-Webster Online that allows users to submit their coinages and recent new-word discoveries. In this month's newsletter, we share a few more of our favorite submissions.

September 2007

Report from the Open Dictionary

Over the summer months, visitors to Merriam-Webster Online continued to enjoy making contributions to the Open Dictionary, a feature that allows users to submit their coinages and recent new-word discoveries. In this month's newsletter, we share some of our favorite submissions.

November 2007

Report from the Open Dictionary

We're not the only folks on the lookout for new words. Our readers are too. When you notice a new word — on the radio, in a book or magazine, or online — and if you find that it's not found in any dictionary, then it's a good candidate for the Open Dictionary at Merriam-Webster Online, a feature that allows users to submit these discoveries. There are now over 12,000 entries in the Open Dictionary. In this month's newsletter, we share some of our favorite recent submissions.

September 2008

Report from the Open Dictionary

Our editors aren't the only ones on the lookout for new words; our readers add words to Merriam-Webster's Open Dictionary every day. When you notice a new word — on the radio, in a book or magazine, or online — and find that it's not found in any dictionary, it's probably a good candidate. Here's a handful of our favorite recent submissions.

March 2009

Report from the Open Dictionary

Our editors aren't the only ones on the lookout for new words; our readers add words to Merriam-Webster's Open Dictionary every day. When you notice a new word — on the radio, in a book or magazine, or online — and find that it's not found in any dictionary, it's probably a good candidate. Here are several recent submissions.

April 2009

Report from the Open Dictionary

Dictionary editors keep an eye out for new words, and so do readers. Merriam-Webster's Open Dictionary invites language watchers to pass along new or specialized words (or old words with new meanings) that have not yet made it into a standard print or online dictionary. Decide for yourself if any of these recent contributions will catch on.

May 2009

Report from the Open Dictionary

With summer holidays around the corner, Americans still worried about the economy have some new words to use when describing their situation. Decide for yourself if these new coinages will have the lasting power to earn a spot in the dictionary. Or, submit your own new or specialized words to a Merriam-Webster's Open Dictionary.

June 2009

Report from the Open Dictionary

As the school year draws to a close, Open Dictionary contributors are adding terminology for school-age youth. Tween, meaning "preteen," (a blend of between and teen) is so last century; it dates to 1967. Try these newer coinages on for size. Or, submit your own to Merriam-Webster's Open Dictionary.

September 2009

Report from the Open Dictionary

The Open Dictionary didn't go on vacation this summer, and many contributions were added for words that are too new or too specialized to be entered in our print dictionaries. In some ways the Open Dictionary represents a kind of future dictionary of real words that are spotted and reported by the public.

Interested in adding a new word or new sense of an existing word to the Dictionary? We're always interested in the words that you hear and see that haven't yet been defined. Click for guidelines and join the amateur lexicographers!