‘F-bomb,’ ‘Man cave’ among new words in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary

Merriam-Webster is following in the footsteps of Oxford and adding a modern twist to its repertoire.

They’re words we often hear and often say: Man cave, F-bomb, gastropub, mash-up, energy drink. Now, they’ll find a place among the pages of the 2012 update of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.

According to Merriam-Webster Editor-at-Large Peter Sokolowski, the updates are really just a testament to the ever-changing English language and our ability to reshape it through new generations.  

“Some of the new words this year provide colorful images,” he said. “Terms like ‘man cave,’ ‘underwater’ (when used to describe mortgages), ‘earworm,’ and ‘bucket list’ paint vivid pictures in your mind. They show that English-speakers can be very creative as they describe the world around them.”

Creative, indeed! “Energy drink”? That takes wit.

About a year ago, the 12th edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary set the pace for all other dictionaries when it added “domestic goddess,” “woot,” “gastric band” and “sexting” (which is also included in the new Merriam-Webster’s). The definition is: The sending of sexually explicit messages or images by cell phone.

Here’s the full list of the new words added to the 2012 update of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. However, some of them aren’t yet recognized by spell-check. Get on board, Microsoft!

•     aha moment
•     bucket list
•     cloud computing
•     copernicium
•     earworm
•     energy drink
•     f-bomb
•     game changer
•     gassed
•     gastropub
•     man cave
•     mash-up
•     sexting
•     systemic risk
•     underwater