Every so often Dictionary.com adds new words to document current culture. With their latest update, over 300 words have been added. These kids today (makes me sound so old…haha) have impacted our language with new words. Here are a few examples, “yeet” (an exclamation of enthusiasm, approval, pleasure, etc.), “zaddy” (an attractive man who is also stylish, charming, and self-confident), and “oof” (an exclamation used to sympathize with someone else’s pain or dismay, or to express one’s own) are now officially part of our lexicon.
New words were added to reflect our cultural changes as well. “5G”, “long COVID”, “domestic terrorism”, “minoritize”, and “deplatforming” are a few examples.
The one that surprised me, especially living in Texas, was the addition of “y’all”. I would have bet all the money that I have that y’all would have already had that word in your dictionary. By the way, it’s simply the contraction of “you all”. The official definition of “y’all” from Dictionary.com is “you (used in direct address usually to two or more people, or to one person who represents a family, organization, etc.)”.
Click the link to see all the new words in the latest update.
New words added to Dictionary.com
— Doug O’Brien
