The team over at Merriam-Webster has clearly been deep in the Twitter streets.
The dictionary has officially incorporated several viral phrases into its newly added 690 words. This includes “thirst trap,” “beast mode,” and “chef’s kiss.” The long-running lexicon, founded in 1831, announced the latest additions to its vocabulary on Wednesday. “Thirst trap” is described as “desperately seeking attention.” At the same time, a “chef’s kiss” is listed as “a gesture of satisfaction or approval made by kissing the fingertips of one hand and then spreading the fingers with an outward motion.” The company also placed “goated” in its arsenal, used to express “the greatest of all time.” This term has been used to describe Black figures in entertainment, such as Nipsey Hussle, Serena Williams, Beyonce, Kobe Bryant, and Oprah Winfrey.
“We’re very excited by this new batch of words. We hope there is as much insight and satisfaction in reading them as we got from defining them,” Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor at large, wrote in a statement obtained by People.
“Beast mode,” used by sports stars such as LeBron James, was also added to the Merriam-Webster archive, describing “an extremely aggressive or energetic style or manner that someone such as an athlete adopts temporarily.”
The words are already available to be searched on the Merriam-Webster website. Forthcoming printed copies of the dictionary should also show the new terms soon. Other newbies include “bussin’,” “mid,” simp,” and “rizz.”
