Brush up on Gen Z’s favorite buzzwords because they’ve officially entered our lexicon.
Merriam-Webster has revealed the 200 new words they’ve added to the dictionary’s 2024 edition, including several slang words and terms beloved by the younger generations.
“Our lexicographers monitor a huge range of sources to select which words and definitions to add,” Peter Sokolowski, Editor at Large for Merriam-Webster, said in a statement. “From academic journals to social media, these give us a very thorough view of the English language.”
Merriam-Webster has revealed 200 new words for the dictionary’s 2024 edition. eqroy – stock.adobe.comThe new words and terms added to the dictionary have a widespread influence and usage in today’s society, and include:
- For You page (or FYP) – noun, a social media feed that contains personalized content based on the user’s interest
- Touch grass – idiomatic phrase, to participate in normal activities in the real world, especially as opposed to online experiences and interactions
- Nepo baby – noun, a person who gains success or opportunities through familial connections
- Street corn – noun, grilled corn on the cob that is coated with a creamy spread
- Burrata – noun, mozzarella formed into a ball-shaped casing that contains curds and cream
- Capicola – noun, seasoned Italian pork that is cut from the neck and top shoulder
- Ultra-processed – adjective, containing or made primarily with highly processed ingredients including artificial additives (such as coloring, flavoring, and preservatives) and typically having high levels of fat, sugar, or salt
- International Bitterness Unit – noun, a unit of measurement used to assess the concentration of a bitter compound found in hops to provide information about how bitter a beer is
- Cash grab – noun, the greedy pursuit of an opportunity for making money, especially when done without regard for ethics, concerns, or consequences
- Shadow ban – noun, to cause (a user or their content) to be hidden from some or all other users, usually without the user’s knowledge
Miley Cyrus is considered a nepo baby, a person who gains success or opportunities through familial connections, because of her father Billy Ray Cyrus. NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Burrata is mozzarella formed into a ball-shaped casing that contains curds and cream. katrinshine – stock.adobe.comOther words in the self-proclaimed “iconic dictionary” are late capitalism, beach read, dungeon crawler, jam band, heat index, MAGA, far left, far right and classical liberalism.
Last year, a slew of other Gen Z slang words were also added to the dictionary after becoming staples in conversations.
Words such as simp, rizz, and bussin’ were all added, as the influence of Gen-Z impacts our ever-evolving vocabulary.
“The one constant of a vibrant living language is change,” explains Gregory Barlow, President of Merriam-Webster. “We continuously encounter new ways of describing the world around us, and the dictionary is a record of those changes.”
