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Merriam-Webster Unveils Fully Revised Collegiate Dictionary With 5,000+ New Entries

The overhaul reflects a pivot to digital habits, with curated entries replacing biographical and geographical lists.

Overview

  • The 12th edition arrives on November 18, with preorders available now.
  • More than 5,000 additions span technology and culture, including "petrichor," "teraflop," "dumbphone," "ghost kitchen," "rizz" and "dad bod."
  • Editors removed sparse biographical and geographical sections, trimmed archaic terms, and added over 20,000 usage examples along with enhanced entries for top lookups.
  • The print release comes as dictionary sales have declined 9% over the past year, while Merriam-Webster reports about 1 billion annual website visits and roughly 500% revenue growth over a decade from digital products.
  • The book retains lettered thumb notches for browsing, now produced in India after the last U.S. printer capable of making them closed.