We always encourage new word submissions from you, and you can submit any word you hear, that’s not already in the Macquarie Dictionary here. We’ll review it for inclusion once we receive it. These are made up of words we are currently investigating, so not all may make it. Let us know what you think … Read more
Welcome to the inaugural new words blog of 2023! Have you heard of leet (or leetspeak)? It’s a form of communication used online, invented by the users of bulletin board systems 40 years ago, in which words are respelt by replacing certain letters with numbers or other symbols that resemble them. It’s hypothesised to have been … Read more
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The English language has the great capacity to create new words and new meanings from existing words. One of the more common ways we form new words in English is by putting together two (or more!) existing words to form a new word with a new meaning. This is technically known as a lexical item or lexical unit. … Read more
As 2022 winds down, our fellow dictionaries from around the world are announcing their words of the year. Collins Dictionary had announced their Word of the Year as permacrisis. Making the announcement, Collins said that: It is one of several words Collins highlights that relate to ongoing crises the UK and the world have faced and … Read more
The Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year voting is open now. The below shortlist was chosen from the 15 categories under consideration for Word of the Year 2022. You can review the words and definitions below. Access a pdf of the shortlist here. You can also view the entire longlist here.Shortlist … Read more
Announcing the Macquarie Dictionary Committee’s Choice and People’s Choice Word of the Year 2023. You can review the final shortlist here (and for those interested, the longlist here). Thank you for helping us decide the defining new word for 2023! Committee’s Choice Word of the Year 2023 “Although cozzie livs was coined in the UK, it has resonated soundly with Australians, … Read more
The Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year has a shortlist consisting of at least one word from each of our categories. Our editors have gone through to give us some insight as to what each category entails below. Arts – including literature, film, fine arts and music. Business – associated with finance and corporations. Colloquial – informal and … Read more
This week’s word of the week is the Dish. No, we aren’t prepping for dinner, we are journeying out to the New South Wales Central West to visit the famous Parkes radio telescope. Opened in 1961, the Dish is a powerful radio telescope with a sudsidiary telescope. The Dish is best known for the role … Read more
This week we are wearing shoes and socks because the word of the week is toe-biter, also known as the giant water bug. The toe-biter is a large freshwater insect that can grow up to seven centimetres long. They can breath underwater using a postier tube and are found along the eastern and northern coasts … Read more
