Since 1990, the American Dialect Society has identified one or more words or expressions as the word of the year. According to the society's website, "Words of the Year are those that reflect the concerns and preoccupations of the year gone by. They need not be new, but they usually are newly prominent."
Words are selected by members of the society, acting "in fun" and not "officially inducting words into the English language." The purpose of the annual event is to illustrate the point that "language change is normal, ongoing, and entertaining."
Here, as determined by members of the American Dialect Society, are the words and expressions that have been recognized as Words of the Year since 1990.
- 2008
bailout, noun
The rescue by the government of companies on the brink of failure, including large players in the banking industry. - 2007
subprime, noun
A risky or less than ideal loan, mortgage, or investment. - 2006
plutoed, verb
To demote or devalue someone or something, as happened to the former planet Pluto when the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union decided Pluto no longer met its definition of a planet. - 2005
truthiness, noun
The quality of preferring concepts or facts one wishes to be true, rather than concepts or facts known to be true. - 2004
red state, blue state, purple state, noun phrases
Together, a representation of the U.S. political map. - 2003
metrosexual, noun
A fashion-conscious heterosexual male, or, as coiner Mark Simpson put it, a man who “has clearly taken himself as his own love object.” - 2002
weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), noun phrase
Weapons that can kill large numbers of humans and cause great damage to property. - 2001
9/11 or September 11, noun
The series of coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001. - 2000
chad, noun
A paper fragment punched from a voting card--a reference to the 2000 U.S. presidential election controversy in Florida. - 1999
Y2K, abbreviation
Short for the year 2000. - 1998
e-, prefix
Abbreviation for electronic, as in e-mail and e-commerce. - 1997
millennium bug. noun phrase
A computer bug resulting from the practice in early computer program design of representing the year with two digits. - 1996
mom, noun
As in soccer mom, a newly significant type of voter courted by both candidates during the U.S. presidential campaign. - 1995
World Wide Web (WWW), noun, and newt, noun
World Wide Web is the system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet.
Newt (a reference to Newt Gingrich, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives) means to make aggressive changes as a newcomer. - 1994
cyber-, prefix, and morph, verb
Cyber- pertains to computers and electronic communication.
Morph means to change form. - 1993
information superhighway, noun phrase
The international network of computers. - 1992
Not!, adverb
An expression of disagreement. - 1991
mother of all, noun phrase
Greatest, as in Saddam Hussein's prediction of the "Mother of all battles." - 1990
bushlips, noun
Insincere political rhetoric.
