From ‘Brexiety’ to ‘prorogation’: how Brexit has changed the way we use language in 2019

Britain’s exit from the European Union has dominated the news agenda since 2016, when Brexit was nominated by Collins Dictionaries as its Word of the Year. 2019 was supposed to be the year that Britain finally left the EU. At the time of writing, however, that still hasn’t happened, in… Read More

The rich tapestry of language provides a varied Word of the Year 2019 list

In a year dominated by contentious political issues as well as environmental concerns, it is hardly surprising that many of the words Collins’ lexicographers found coming to the fore during 2019 were either directly political in nature, such as ‘entryist’, or being used most frequently in political contexts, such as… Read More

Collins Word of the Year 2019 shortlist

Climate strike has been announced as the Collins Word of the Year 2019. climate strike (ˈklaɪmɪt ˌstraɪk) noun: a form of protest in which people absent themselves from education or work in order to join demonstrations demanding action to counter climate change Discover the rest of the words… Read More

These are strange, anxiety-inducing times – but there are reasons to be cheerful

These are strange, anxiety-inducing times – but there are reasons to be cheerful. That’s what the English language seems to be telling us in 2019. Having trawled websites, newspapers, magazines, social media, and everyday conversations, Collins’ lexicographers have detected an uptick in words linked to both environmental and digital derangement… Read More

Top 10 Crossword Tips

Bamboozled by crosswords? Here are our top ten tips to help you hone your puzzle-solving skills! Crossword Tip #1: Quick crosswords Crossword puzzles tend to be basically ‘quick’ or ‘cryptic’. A quick crossword usually relies on a one- or two-word clue which is a simple definition of the answer required. Read More

9 Spelling Differences Between British and American English

It is sometimes joked that the United Kingdom and the United States are two countries separated by a common language. Indeed, while the British and the Americans understand each other the vast majority of the time, there are still many important differences between UK and US English, which can lead… Read More

Spanish word of the week: despertar

despertar VERB to wake up Despertar means to wake … up, that is when you wake someone else up. In other words it’s transitive. Despiértame a las ocho, mamá. Wake me up at eight, mom. If you want to describe waking up of your own accord — in other… Read More

Remember, remember, the 11th November: the Transit of Mercury

On November 11 there is a transit of Mercury, when, as viewed from Earth, Mercury passes across the face of the Sun. (Almost needless to say, but never view the Sun directly, either with the naked eye or with any form of optical instrument. Always use a proper… Read More

4. Mental health and disability: new words in COBUILD English Usage

In our fourth blog post about the new edition of COBUILD English Usage, Julie Moore looks at some more of the changes in language usage that emerged from research for the new edition. In this post, she explores how language shifts reflect changing ideas about mental health and disability. Read More