Because, Language: Merriam-Webster Just Added 455 Delicious Words To Its Dictionary

ACROSS AMERICA — What a time to be alive. Merriam-Webster said Wednesday that “dad bod” is among 455 words added to the dictionary that has served generations of Americans for 180 years.“Bit rot” is in there, too. So is “fluffernutter,” not because it is fun to say, though it is that.

Bless — or curse — Merriam-Webster for being hip to change.

The newly added words demonstrated staying power in the always-changing English language, earning a spot in the dictionary, the company said in a news release. Many are reflective of life upended by the coronavirus pandemic, increasing reliance on the internet and a protracted 2020 election season.

“We are all encountering changes in work, public policy, and healthcare, as well as how we communicate online,” Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster editor at large, said in the release.

Dad bod isn’t exactly a compliment, but it’s not a stinging insult, either. It’s a noun, used in casual conversation, often with affection, to describe a father who isn’t as svelte as he once was, has put on weight and is in a(nother) word, flabby. The dad bod may the result of having eaten too many fluffernutters, a sandwich made with peanut butter and marshmallow creme. Bit rot refers to “the tendency for digital information to degrade or become unusable over time.” Some internet jokes about dad bods may not age well and become bit rot.

Other goodies added to the dictionary show how the English language changes and expands, Merriam-Webster said. Many highlight the important role of technology in American society, including digital nomad, or someone who performs their job entirely over the internet while traveling. And just as regular criminals do on real streets, cybercriminals are lurking everywhere, giving rise to the term zero-day. That’s when cybercriminals exploit a computer vulnerability before the computer manufacturer or vender can issue a patch to fix it.

New pandemic-speak includes words such as:

• Breakthrough, defined as “infection occurring in someone who is fully vaccinated against an infectious agent.”
• Vaccine passport, a document offering proof of vaccination.
• Long COVID, symptoms persisting for an extended period following an initial recovery from COVID-19.

New moms may be able to relate to this one: The fourth trimester is the often three-month period of sleep deprivation and frazzled nerves that can follow the birth of a newborn.

Language purists may be grinding their molars down to the nerve endings over the inclusion of “amirite” and “TBH,” social media shorthand for “am I right” and “to be honest,” respectively. And former President Donald Trump can rightly say he was “deplatformed” by Twitter and Facebook.

And speaking of politics, an event such as Super Tuesday — when multiple states vote on a single day — is called a vote-a-rama. During the 2020 election, we saw plenty of whataboutism and whataboutery, when one candidate responded to an opponent’s accusation with something worse.

Also, because, which Merriam-Webster explains in its news release, “because language.”

See a larger selection of new words in the dictionary.