Wordplay

Arts & Culture

The Words of the Week - May 29

Lookups from jazz, basketball, and the Vatican

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Spoiler alert: they all come from French

Why do we say 'head over heels'?

The original version made more sense

What's so extra about 'extra-virgin'?

The technical vocabulary hiding in your kitchen cabinet

The Opposite of Déjà Vu

When the familiar becomes unrecognizable

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

The answer to a color coded language riddle

Ten Kinds of Happiness

Joyful words from around the world

17 Words for Dog Breeds

If you love dogs and words, you’re barking up the right tree

Ten More Words from Taylor Swift Songs

… Ready for them?

8 Delicious Words with Inedible Meanings

Which one is the apple of your eye?

'Gaslighting,' 'Woke,' 'Democracy,' and Other Top Lookups

We know you're going to look these up

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

And why isn't it 'bury the lead'?

Stay Woke

Tracing the history of 'woke'

What exactly is a 'liberal'?

No one wants a 'servile arts' degree

15 Cheffy Words for Chefs (and Everyone Else)

Including 'cheffy'

A List of The U.S. Military Ranks in Order

From Private to General of the Army

Words We’re Watching: ‘Brat’

Lexicography is so brat.

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Our maraca shake brings all the hautbois to the yard

12 Star Wars Words

Enjoy this listicle, you will

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

Look what you made us do

A Great Big List of Bread Words

Quit loafing around and get that bread (word)

Word Icons

Legendary figures and the words that define them

Merriam-Webster's Short List of Gender and Identity Terms

In case you (or someone you know) has questions about what they mean
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