How Are Words Added To The Dictionary?

<p>Our guest this week is a lexicographer. That's someone who studies words and, in this case, edits dictionaries. Emily Brewster is a senior editor at Merriam-Webster and host of the podcast Word Matters.</p> <p>Emily answers a question from 8-year-old Emma in Kentucky, who wants to know how words are added to the dictionary. But before we can answer that, we'll tackle 7-year-old Julia's question, "How are new words created?" Join us for an episode about how words are created, when they've reached a critical level of use to get their own dictionary entry, and when words are removed from the dictionary. Get ready for some word nerdery!</p> <p><em>Download our learning guides: <a href="https://www.vpr.org/sites/vpr/files/202105/how_are_words_added_to_the_dictionary_.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">PDF</a> | <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1aNKlVbBCHQ76-7BySugM7Il_oqFrEhkE90o5FioZfrE/copy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Slide</a> | <a href="https://www.vpr.org/sites/vpr/files/202105/But-Why-Kids-154-NewWords-TRANSCRIPT.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Transcript</a></em></p> <p><strong>More Word Episodes:</strong></p> <p><em><a href="https://www.vpr.org/post/who-invented-words" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Who Invented Words?</a></em> </p> <p><em><a href="https://www.vpr.org/post/why-live-words-and-language" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">But Why Live: Words and Language</a></em> </p> <p><em><a href="https://www.vpr.org/post/why-are-some-words-bad" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Why Are Some Words ‘Bad’?</a></em> </p> <blockquote> <p>"How do words get added to the dictionary?" - Emma, 8, Kentucky</p> </blockquote> <p>Lexicographers like Emily Brewster read and listen a lot and pay attention to the new words that people are using.  They collect these examples and determine how many instances there are of the word and what different kinds of sources are using the word.<br> <br> "If all the examples are only appearing on TikTok, then that tells us one thing about the word. But a