Merriam-Webster Adds 690 New Definitions, Including 'Thirst Trap' and 'Chef’s Kiss'
"Doggo," "rizz" and "beast mode" have also been added to the dictionaryBy
David Chiu
Published on September 27, 2023 05:00PM EDT
“Thirst trap,” “chef’s kiss,” “‘grammable” and “beast mode” are just some of the new words that have now received the official stamp of approval from Merriam-Webster.
The renowned dictionary announced in a news release Wednesday that it has added 690 words and definitions — nearly twice the number of new entries from last year.
“We’re very excited by this new batch of words,” Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor at large, said in the release. “We hope there is as much insight and satisfaction in reading them as we got from defining them.”
Among the entries that made it to this year’s list include such slang words as "doggo" ("dog"), "rizz" (romantic appeal or charm) and "GOATED" (considered to be the greatest of all time), the release said.
Social media terms figure prominently in the new definitions: In addition to "thirst trap" ("desperately seeking attention”) and "'grammable" (“suitable to be posted on Instagram”), there's also "finsta," (a “secret or incognito account on the Instagram photo-sharing service”).
Meanwhile, "bracketology," another new entry into Merriam-Webster’s, will sound familiar to fans who fill out their brackets of NCAA basketball teams during March Madness.
"Beast mode," defined by Merriam-Webster as “an extremely aggressive or energetic style or manner that someone (such as an athlete) adopts temporarily,” also made the list.
Food-related words received some love, too — there's "smashburger" (“a hamburger patty that is pressed thin onto a heated pan or griddle at the start of cooking”) and "chef’s kiss" (“a gesture of satisfaction or approval made by kissing the fingertips of one hand and then spreading the fingers with an outward motion”).
Other words that also appeared on Merriam-Webster’s list of new entries include "UAP" (“unidentified aerial phenomenon”), "smishing" ("the practice of sending text messages to someone in order to trick the person into revealing personal or confidential information which can then be used for criminal purposes”) and "rage quit" (“to quit (something) in anger”).
Last September, Merriam-Webster added 370 words and terms, including as “sus,” “baller,” “oat milk” and “booster dose.”
In 2021, Sokolowski explained to Today how a new word qualifies to be in the dictionary: “If a word is used frequently in publications such as The New York Times or The Atlantic, then it goes into the dictionary. We need to see it appear in carefully edited prose over a period of time — and not just in memes and on social media."
