SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts — When you think of the year 2020, a lot of words come to mind. Maybe crazy, lonely, the worst? You probably could add a few not safe for work ones as well.
Well, Merriam-Webster announced today "pandemic" as the word of the year. WE'RE SHOCKED (not really).
Merriam-Webster's editor at large Peter Sokolowski tells the Associated Press that "pandemic" rose to the top in March. That's when the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus crisis a pandemic.
Interest in the word on the company's website has been high through the year. If you didn't know what the definition for "pandemic" is it's "an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and typically affects a significant proportion of the population." So it fits 2020 to a T.
Other words that were runners up for word of the year were: kraken, mamba, and defund. President-elect Joe Biden's fondness for the word "malarkey" lifted the word to runner up status as well.
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