Words at Play

Commonly Confused | New Words We're Watching | Usage Notes | Words of the Week | Word Histories

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Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes

When each letter can be seen but not heard

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Rare and Amusing Insults, Volume 2

Sometimes a 'cacafuego' can be a real 'slubberdegullion'

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You're (Probably) Saying It Wrong

18 words even you might be mispronouncing

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'Bare' vs. 'Bear'

The difference bears repeating

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Words of the Week - May 13

Lookups from the economy, the Supreme Court, and golf

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13 Bizarre Things That Somehow Have Words

For frog-tossing, sword dancing, and more

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What is figurative language?

Paint a picture with words

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What a Hoot!

15 bird sounds, and the birds who make them

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The Merriam-Webster Word-O-Meter

Some interesting stats from April 2022

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Words of the Week - April 29

Lookups from Twitter, the Supreme Court, and Ukraine

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14 English Words from Yiddish

Our little list is not the whole 'megillah'

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Is It 'Could' or 'Couldn't Care Less'?

Can you care fewer?

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8 Words We Stole from French

Spoiler: We stole way more than 8

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Words of the Week - April 22

From social media, the federal judiciary, and Passover

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Should you 'quit' or 'resign'?

How to say you're outta there

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17 English Words that Come From Japanese

Some borrowed words don't get returned

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Rare and Amusing Insults: Cockalorum, Snollygoster, and More

How dare you called me a ninnyhammer you pillock!

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'Dunderhead' and Other ‘Nicer’ Ways to Say Stupid

As illustrated by some very smart pups

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Is it one word or two?

27 words with commonly confused spacings

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Words of the Week - April 15

Dictionary lookups from Ukraine, New York City, and Easter

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Words of the Week - April 8

Looking at 'historic,' 'uncompensated,' 'archetype,' and more

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‘Metaphor’ vs. ‘Simile’

Shall we compare thee to a summer’s day?

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Words We're Watching: 'Orange Wine'

It's not citrus.

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April Fools' Day: We Don't Know Its Origin

But be wary on April 1 anyway.

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The Merriam-Webster Word-O-Meter

Some interesting stats from March 2022

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Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of lachrymose

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

The Great British Vocabulary Quiz

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  • Named after Sir Robert Peel, what are British police called?
Name That Thing

You know what it looks like… but what is it called?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Universal Daily Crossword

A daily challenge for crossword fanatics.

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