It's a popularly held idea that dictionary writers have the power to add words to the lexicon when in fact language is changed the by people who use it and the job of the lexigrographer is to take note. Here, Vocabulary.com lexicographer Ben Zimmer revisits this distinction in a look at a recent episode of the Nickelodeon teen comedy "Sam & Cat," in which the titular characters take on word-creation head on. Continue reading...
The 2018-19 Vocabulary Bowl culminated in a celebration of hard-working students, dedicated educators, and their collective commitment to mastery. Continue reading...
In writing about Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, New Yorker staff writer Nick Paumgarten invoked a very specific sense of the verb jawbone. Continue reading...
Pluto is coming into startingly sharp focus, thanks to the first images and data received from the space probe New Horizons last week. As we learn more about this distant cousin of Earth, we're also expanding our linguistic horizons. Here's a closer look at some of the words and names in the Plutonian news. Continue reading...
At any given time of the day, you could zoom into any of our high school classrooms, and find scholars on their laptops, phones, or other devices – surprisingly – logged into their Vocabulary.com accounts and working on vocabulary lists: Not Candy Crush or any other game, but Vocabulary.com! Continue reading...
In spite of the fact that the Harry Potter series is often embarked on by children in the youngest elementary school grades, the series is a treasure trove of sophisticated, SAT-worthy vocabulary. Dirigible as it appears in the Potterverse, is a word you're likely not soon to forget. Continue reading...
A prophet is someone who delivers messages of guidance or warning to others based on divine inspiration. The word profit, on the other hand, refers to the money a business makes after it has paid all its costs. Profit can also mean gaining a benefit from a particular activity, investment, or endeavor. Continue reading...
New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells, perhaps best known for his recent, scathing critique of Guy Fieri's new restaurant in Times Square, told the New York Times this week he'd hate to know how many times rich, fragrant, aromatic, delicate, gentle, crisp, and crunchy appear in his reviews. The answer? Just two. Continue reading...
The 2017 - 2018 Bowl season is underway, and the stage is set for an epic Bowl. Can Etiwanda be stopped? Can Margate's record hold up? Which rookies are on the rise? Check out the latest Vocabulary Bowl Roundup videos for a quick recap of all the leaderboard action. Continue reading...