FOMO, Mx, Nomophobia Added to Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Among 2000 new words

Some new words have been added to Merriam-Webster’s unabridged dictionary – 2000 of them actually. The news words are signs of the times, reflecting what we’re talking about and how we’re talking about it. Among them:

  • FOMO, an acronym for Fear of Missing Out
  • Mx, the gender neutral prefix for those who prefer not to use Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms
  • Wacky Tabacky, slang for marijuana
  • Nomophobia, the fear of being without a cellphone

The decision to add each new word is not taken lightly. It’s, essentially, a bet that it has made a mark on the language worth remembering or that it will stick around for the foreseeable future.