We’ve just added 1,400 new words and definitions, a glow-up to our iconic dictionary. The new entries reflect words and meanings that have demonstrated widespread use over time, offering a window into the world today. Among the new entries, social media culture provides the well-defined looksmaxxing , the unrequited parasocial , the ever-dangerous Rickroll (that link is harmless, we promise), and for some investors the potentially more dangerous meme coin . Congratulations to promposal for getting picked, and to letterboxing for a new digital sense to go with its 19th-century pastime. Technology brings us compute as a noun, (a resource tech companies increasingly want more of), along with vibe coding and AGI (artificial general intelligence). It also brings us uncanny valley , that creepy feeling that results from something artificial appearing almost—but not quite—human. Edible newcomers include superfood , “a food (such as salmon, broccoli, or blueberries) that is rich in nutrients,” and less super foods such as cake pop . More savory additions include shishito , “a slender usually mild chili pepper of East Asia,” and a bao bun that might be delicious with chili crisp . Other words that identify how we live and feel today include cuffing season , “a 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,” plus the far less cozy Sunday scaries and crashout . Other new additions range from the frantic whack-a-mole , which keeps popping up in the language, to the mellow yacht rock and California sober . The dictionary has put on shapewear , groomed its definition of neckbeard (the fur itself and the supposed culture of those who have it), and acknowledged copium without ingesting any. Finally, readers who feel certain that Merriam-Webster hasn’t defined trash panda might simply be experiencing the Mandela Effect . To learn about our editorial process, here’s how new words get into the dictionary . Word of the Day See Definitions and Examples » Get Word of the Day daily email! Games & Quizzes 10 Words for Food with Unfortunate Names Why do we 'bury the lede?'

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