Merriam-Webster Logo
  • Games
  • Word of the Day
  • Grammar
  • Wordplay
  • Slang
  • Rhymes
  • Word Finder
  • Thesaurus
  • Join MWU
    • Games
    • Word of the Day
    • Grammar
    • Wordplay
    • Slang
    • Rhymes
    • Word Finder
    • Thesaurus
    • Join MWU link icon
    • Shop
    • Books link icon
    • Merch link icon
      • Log In
      • Username
      • My Words
      • Recents
      • Account
      • Log Out
Est. 1828
Popular in
Word History
15 Words That Used to Mean Something Different
'Ganef,' 'Galoot,' and More Historical Slang Terms We Love
Where does 'hello' come from?
Some Data About 'Datum'
The Dangerous Creation of 'Limelight,' & More
See All
Popular in
Wordplay
12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
8 Words with Fascinating Histories
8 Words for the Wordy and Talking Too Much
Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language
See All
Popular in
Grammar & Usage
How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'
The Misspelled Words of the National Spelling Bee
More Words You Always Have to Look Up
'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
Using Bullet Points ( • )
See All
Wordplay Word History

Infographic: How a Word Gets Into the Dictionary

See? It's easy

enter image description here

dictionary infographic

This infographic is part of our series on slang in the dictionary. To read the article that accompanies this piece, click here.

Share

Word of the Day

abstruse

Listen to the pronunciation of abstruse

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries.  Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All

Popular

Word History

15 Words That Used to Mean Something Different

'Ganef,' 'Galoot,' and More Historical Slang Terms We Love

Where does 'hello' come from?

Some Data About 'Datum'

The Dangerous Creation of 'Limelight,' & More

See All

Wordplay

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for the Wordy and Talking Too Much

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language

See All

Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Misspelled Words of the National Spelling Bee

More Words You Always Have to Look Up

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

See All
Merriam Webster

Learn a new word every day. Delivered to your inbox!

  • Help
  • About Us
  • Advertising Info
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

© 2025 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated