Hundreds of New Words Added to Dictionary.

• Position: MERRIAM-WEBSTER

Merriam-Webster has announced the addition of 455 new words and meanings to its dictionary. All have met the dictionary's entry criteria--some, such as vaccine passport, because of new prominence, and others, like dad bod, because of demonstrated staying power. As always, these additions offer a window into how the English language is changing and expanding.

Highlighting the connection between technology and daily life, digital nomad refers to someone who performs his or her occupation entirely over the Internet while traveling. The threats of technology also are represented: zero-day describes a vulnerability that is discovered and exploited by cybercriminals before it is fixed, and bit rot refers to "the tendency for digital information to degrade or become unusable over time."

From business and finance comes the term blank check company (also known as SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company), which is "a corporate shell set up by investors for the sole purpose of raising money through an initial public offering to acquire another business yet to be determined."

"We are all encountering changes in work, public policy, and health care, as well as how we communicate online. It's not surprising that these changes are reflected in the dictionary," says Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster's editor at large.

The coronavirus pandemic continues to shape our lives and our language, and this update includes a new medical sense of breakthrough, defined as "infection occurring in someone who is fully vaccinated against an infectious agent"; vaccine passport, a document offering proof of vaccination; and long COVID, which refers to symptoms persisting for an extended period of time following an initial recovery...