Every year the publishers of the Merriam-Webster add new words to their printed dictionary.  The new words being added this year come out tomorrow!  This year they are adding 100 new words to the dictionary that they have been tracking and gathering evidence on related to usage over several years.  A word has to be commonly used across many areas of the English-speaking world before it becomes part of a printed dictionary.  Colloquial or regionally used words often do not make the cut, but words that have been around for many years and words that are being used by speakers young and old, and living in diverse areas, do get added to the dictionary eventually.  On-line dictionaries often already have words that are new to the English language, but printed dictionaries usually take more time to add them.

So, what are some of the new words that are making their debut in the printed Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary this year?   There are a few of the words that are being added this year, which you may want to learn:

e-reader – a portable electronic device used for reading books and other text materials
Example:  I want to get an e-reader but I am afraid I will miss holding a book and turning the pages as I read.

f-bomb – saying the word f*ck; often used with the verb ‘to drop’ as in to drop the f-bomb
Example: When Jaime gets mad he usually drops  the f-bomb.

man cave – an area that is specially equipped  with machines that a man might like, for example a garage, spare bedroom,  den, or basement, to which he goes to escape
Example: Ron and Bill are watching a game and drinking beer in the men cave.

sexting – the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photographs between mobile phones
Example: More and more people are sexting now that cell phones are so common.

shovel-ready – a project, such as building a house, that has advanced to the stage that workers may immediately be employed to start working
Example: The new road project is shovel ready and should be complete in 3 months.

tipping point – the stage in a process when a significant change takes place
Example: I wonder what the tipping point was for people to move from looking words up in a dictionary to looking them up on-line.

Here is a link to an article you can read to find out more about these new words and the dictionary revision process used for adding new words to the English language: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/13/fbomb-sexting-among-100-d_n_1774070.html