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'Looksmaxxing' among 1,400 new words added to Merriam-Webster's dictionary website

By
FOX Local
Lifestyle
Published September 16, 2026 1:25 PM MST
Published September 16, 2026 1:25 PM MST
Merriam-Webster adds 'tallboy,' 'dad joke'
Merriam-Webster adds 'tallboy,' 'dad joke'

Merriam-Webster adds 'tallboy,' 'dad joke'

The new 530 words range from "serious to the playful, from the technical to the informal," the website reads.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Brief

The Brief

    • Merriam-Webster added 1,400 new words and definitions, reflecting how social media, technology, food trends and popular culture are shaping modern English.
    • Internet and tech terms feature prominently, including looksmaxxing, parasocial, rickroll, meme coin, AGI, vibe coding and uncanny valley.
    • Everyday life and culture are also represented, with additions such as superfood, bao, cuffing season, Sunday scaries and crashout.

Merriam-Webster has added 1,400 new words and definitions to its dictionary, highlighting how social media, technology, food and popular culture continue to reshape the English language.

The dictionary publisher said the new entries reflect words and meanings that have "demonstrated widespread use over time, offering a window into the world today."

Looksmaxxing, parasocial among words added

Big picture view:

Among the new additions are terms born from internet and social media culture, including looksmaxxing, parasocial, Rickroll and meme coin.

Looksmaxxing refers to the practice of taking measures – sometimes extreme or dangerous – intended to increase a person’s physical attractiveness. 

Parasocial describes a one-sided emotional connection with someone, such as a celebrity or fictional character, whom a person does not know personally.

Merriam-Webster added 1,400 new words and definitions. In this photo illustration, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. (Credit: Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, rickroll has received an official definition for the familiar internet prank: tricking someone into hearing Rick Astley’s 1987 song "Never Gonna Give You Up."

Technology also accounted for several new additions. Merriam-Webster now recognizes compute as a noun, referring to the computational resources, including memory and processing power, required for a computer or program to function. 

Other technology-related additions include AGI, or artificial general intelligence, vibe coding, and uncanny valley, the unsettling feeling produced when something artificial appears almost, but not quite, human.

Latest additions also reflect food trends, relationships

Dig deeper:

The latest additions also reflect changing food trends. New entries include superfood, cake pop, shishito, bao and chili crisp. Merriam-Webster defines a superfood as a food that is rich in nutrients, citing examples such as salmon, broccoli and blueberries.

Several terms describing modern relationships, emotions and everyday experiences have also made the dictionary. Cuffing season refers to the time of year when people who are single or not in a relationship begin looking for a short-term romantic partner during the colder months.

RELATED: Here's what Merriam-Webster named its word of the year for 2025

For less romantic experiences, there is Sunday scaries, describing feelings of anxiety or sadness that arise as the weekend comes to an end, and crashout, which can refer to a mental or emotional breakdown or an emotional outburst or tantrum.

You can find a full list of the new entries here. Merriam-Webster is the oldest dictionary company in the United States and is headquartered in Springfield.

The Source: The information for this story was provided by Merriam-Webster. This story was reported from Los Angeles.

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