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Recent Additions to the Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and usage of 600,000 words and phrases past and present, from across the English-speaking world.
The OED offers both present-day meanings and the history of individual words. It traces language back to the 11th century through 3.5 million quotations from literature, periodicals, film scripts, song lyrics, and social media.
Explore recently added words and phrases below:
- Bandwagon: intransitive. To join others in supporting a movement or cause that seems promising, fashionable, or popular. Also spec. of a nation or state: to ally with a stronger, more powerful nation or state that seems most likely to prevail in a conflict.
- Beddy-baw: A child's word for: bed or sleep. Frequently in plural.
- Catwalker: A person who uses a narrow platform or footway; esp. someone who works on one in a theatre or factory, or on a bridge, etc.
- Chupacabra: A creature purported to exist in parts of the Americas (esp. Puerto Rico, Mexico, and the southwestern United States), where it is said to attack and drink the blood of goats and other domestic animals.
- Daffiness: The quality of being daffy or daft; silliness.
- Fog of war: Usually with the. A state of confusion, disorientation, or uncertainty caused by limited awareness of the current situation in a battle or war, esp. as an impediment to tactical or logistical decision-making. Also in figurative contexts.
- Menopause: intransitive. To reach menopause; to have symptoms associated with perimenopause or menopause.
- Paint bombing: The action of throwing a paint bomb or paint bombs at someone or something, esp. as a form of protest; an instance of this.
Members of Jenkins Law Library can access the Oxford English Dictionary remotely from our list of databases. Additional questions? Take a look at our research guide on Dictionaries, Thesauri, and More.
