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    "original_url": "https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/09\/16\/us\/merriam-webster-new-words-looksmaxxing-yacht-rock.html?ae=oa&emc=edit_nn_20260917&nl=the-morning&segment_id=226633",
    "parsed_content": "AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTSupported bySKIP ADVERTISEMENTMerriam-Webster Dictionary Is Wordsmaxxing With 1,400 New DefinitionsNow you have no excuse for not knowing the meaning of \u201ccuffing season,\u201d \u201cshishito\u201d or \u201cglow-up.\u201dListen \u00b7 4:37 min Share full articleA copy of Merriam-Webster\u2019s 12th edition of the \u201cCollegiate Dictionary.\u201d The company is adding 1,400 words to its online catalog, some of which will go in print.Credit...Merriam-Webster, via Associated PressBy Michael LevensonSept. 16, 2026See more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra m\u00e1s de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de b\u00fasqueda. Add The New York Times on GoogleAgrega The New York Times en Google Merriam-Webster, the venerable dictionary that traces its roots to a time before looksmaxxing and yacht rock, has added those words along with chili crisp, shapewear and cuffing season, to its comprehensive accounting of the English language.The company, based in Springfield, Mass., announced on Tuesday that it had added those five terms and 1,395 other new definitions to its online dictionary, Merriam-Webster.com. Many will also be added to upcoming editions of the print dictionary.Merriam-Webster is the oldest dictionary publisher in America. It traces its start to 1843, when the brothers George and Charles Merriam bought the rights to the 1841 edition of Noah Webster\u2019s dictionary. The company emphasizes that the dictionary is not a static catalog, but a reflection of the many different ways words are used by real people.That includes food-related words that have become more commonly used in the United States like superfood, \u201ca food (such as salmon, broccoli, or blueberries) that is rich in nutrients,\u201d and shishito, \u201ca slender usually mild chili pepper of East Asia.\u201d On the sweeter side, the dictionary added cake pop, \u201ca compressed ball of cake crumbs and icing that is dipped in a usually chocolate or sugary coating,\u201d for the uninitiated.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTAnyone who dreads going to work or school might be familiar with the Sunday scaries, the \u201cfeelings of anxiety or sadness that arise on Sunday from the knowledge that the weekend is almost over.\u201d And people who know Braden Peters, the proudly vain social media influencer known as Clavicular, might be familiar, for better or worse, with looksmaxxing. Merriam-Webster calls it \u201cthe practice of taking one or more sometimes extreme or dangerous measures intended to increase one\u2019s physical attractiveness.\u201dGregory Barlow, the president of Merriam-Webster, who declined to provide a complete list of the 1,400 new definitions added to the dictionary, said that the company did not remove any words in its latest update.\u201cThere wasn\u2019t a theme, but we can see that online culture and social media increasingly generate new language,\u201d he said in an email. \u201cConversation on social platforms creates fertile soil in which new words crop up and spread.\u201dThe process for keeping the dictionary up-to-date, or giving it a glow-up, which is one of the new terms just added, starts with editors who read widely and identify promising new entries for the dictionary. The editors then search through databases of articles, books and speeches, to see if those words have been used widely and have meanings that are broadly understood.Proposed additions are reviewed by more senior colleagues, \u201cbut there\u2019s no committee, no advocacy, no meetings for new word inclusion,\u201d the company says on its website. Ultimately, it says, a word gets into the dictionary \u201cwhen it is used by many people who all agree that it means the same thing.\u201dAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTMerriam-Webster typically adds about 1,000 entries to the dictionary annually.Fans of Christopher Cross, Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald might be pleased to see that yacht rock made the cut. Merriam-Webster defines it as \u201ca style of soft rock music originating in the 1970s and 1980s.\u201dAlso clearing the bar was cuffing season, \u201ca time of the year when people who are not married or in a relationship begin looking for a short-term romantic partner to spend the colder months of the year with.\u201dMerriam-Webster also added parasocial, \u201ca one-sided emotional connection with someone (especially a celebrity or fictional character) whom one does not know personally,\u201d and Rickroll, \u201cto trick (someone) into hearing the song \u2018Never Gonna Give You Up\u2019 by English singer Rick Astley.\u201d\u201cWords like cuffing season and looksmaxxing are widely used now, and people want to know what they mean, so we\u2019re serving our audience by defining them,\u201d Mr. Barlow said. \u201cThe online dictionary has limitless space to add all the words that merit inclusion, even if some words turn out to be relatively ephemeral.\u201dAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT",
    "published_at": "2026-09-16T20:54:18+00:00",
    "author_name": "Michael Levenson",
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    "ai_headline": "Merriam-Webster Dictionary Is Wordsmaxxing With 1,400 New Definitions",
    "ai_simplified_title": "Merriam-Webster Adds 1,400 New Words to Dictionary",
    "ai_excerpt": "Merriam-Webster has added 1,400 new words and definitions to its online dictionary, including terms like 'looksmaxxing,' 'yacht rock,' and 'cuffing season.' This update reflects the evolving English language, particularly influenced by online culture and social media.",
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