Ever wonder where the expression "an albatross around one's neck" comes from? Or even what the word albatross means? Look no further than Samuel Taylor Coleridge's oft-quoted ballad "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" to find out. Continue reading...
It's hard to believe but it's already the time when dictionary programs begin selecting their "Words of the Year." Oxford University Press has selected one Word of the Year for the UK and one for the US. The UK word is omnishambles ("a situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged"), while the US word is the acronymic verb GIF ("to create a GIF file of an image or video sequence, especially relating to an event"). The UK announcement is here, and the US announcement is here. Continue reading...
"Here's one safe prediction for the Winter Olympics," writes Visual Thesaurus executive producer Ben Zimmer in the New York Times Magazine. "Competitors and commentators will use podium as a verb, as in, 'She can definitely podium here today.' And just as predictably, some observers will shudder at the word." Read the rest here. Continue reading...
Words like hallow and eldritch aren't as catchy as "trick or treat," but they are part of the colorful history of this popular holiday. Better to learn them now than later: don't take a chance of being haunted by the apparition of a weak vocabulary. Continue reading...
Teachers: We've just added a built-in assignment tool to make it even easier to assign vocabulary lists for your students to practice. This functionality should come as a welcome addition to teachers--we added it based on your feedback and expect it to be a game changer for anyone teaching word learning using vocabulary.com. Continue reading...
Get all the details for how you and your students can attend our first virtual kickoff celebration. Whether your students are learning in person or online, we hope you'll join us for games, giveaways, and more! Continue reading...
Looking for another reason to learn new words on Vocabulary.com? Check out a study released last week on the relationship between literary and economic misery. The news pairs nicely with our List of the Week, "Vocabulary from John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath." Continue reading...
An ongoing struggle in the English Language Arts classroom is improving students' spelling habits. We educators know that good spelling is a crucial skill; is there anything more likely to derail a résumé or essay than a spelling error? Yet it's also a skill that requires assiduous practice on the part of our students. Continue reading...