10 New Words Just Added to Dictionary.com

Last Updated on October 23, 2023

A group of new words has just been added to dictionary.com as our language continues to involve.

From technology to popular music to the growing movement to recognize people who are part of the transgender community, some of the new words just added to Dictionary.com.

Here, in no particular order, are 10 of the more unusual entries you’ll find in the list of 150:

1. Bestie

Let me start with an easy one that you’ve probably heard, if not used, before. One’s bestie is one’s best friend. It’s less likely, from what I’ve seen, to be said out loud but more likely to be used on social media.

2. Mx

I don’t know why anyone would be surprised that a courtesy title would be the next thing affected by the growing awareness of the transgender movement, but for those who haven’t seen this, it is used in place of Mr. or Ms. when referring to someone of an unspecified gender. This makes me grateful that I mostly try to use AP Style, which ditches such titles altogether. The big quesiton, it seems to me, is how it’s pronounced. Is it read like “mix?” That strikes me as a word that has the potential of offending someone unintentionally.

3. kk

Really? Unfortunately, yes, really. This one is from the world of text-speak, and uses the double k instead of the more familiar ok. This is one of those stupid little abbreviations that make no sense to me: you don’t save yourself any letters and one can effectively communicate, in text-speak, the exact same idea with a single letter k.

4. Random

The use of random that refers to “a person or thing that is unknown, unidentified, or suspiciously out of place” is so common these days that it’s almost a surprise that this definition isn’t already in the dictionary.

5. Facepalm

Here’s another one that feels as if it’s been in use long enough that it would have been added long before now. It’s the gesture putting one’s hand over one’s face in an expression of embarrassment, or used an expression that it’s what one who can’t be seen at the moment is or should be doing because of some blunder. Surrounded by asterisks in text-speak, it’s an admission of error with associated embarrassment. Anyone who uses some of the words on this list should immediately feel a facepalm is in order.

6. Franken

I sort of like this one, but it’s still annoying. It takes the place of words like mega when whatever follows it, like storm, is a particularly scary thing. In Charleston last month, we had a so-called “1,000 year rain event,” which could have been referred to as a “mega-storm.”&nbsp This word would give us the alternate “Franken-storm.” It’s obviously a reference to the monster Frankenstein.

7. yaaas

This is a strong expression of agreement or approval that apparently came to us from a song by Nicki Minaj. Heaven help us.

8. Fleek

This little word, which I would imagine gives people absolutely no obvious clue as to its meaning, was popularized last year by, of all things, a Vine video from a woman who described her eyebrows as “on fleek.”&nbsp In her case, apparently, that meant flawlessly styled; it also may mean well-groomed or on point. Good luck with that one.

9. EGOT

You might call an EGOT a “quadruple threat,”&nbsp as it’s indicative of a person who has one at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award. That takes talent! Helen Hayes, Mel Brooks, Rita Moreno, John Gielgud, Audrey Hepburn and Marvin Hamlisch are among the dozen or so who’ve managed such a feat.

10. Sapiosexual

This is a person who finds intelligence a sexually attractive quality. It’s sad that it’s taken this long for such a word to appear.

Okay, now it’s your turn:

Which of these would be least likely to use and why?