From janky to PSL to MacGyver: all the new words you'll find in the official dictionary. Photo / 123rf
Yes, the word "yeet" can now officially be found in the dictionary.
The world's biggest online dictionary, Merriam-Webster, has added several new words to its vocabulary, including "lewk", "pumpkin spice" and "MacGyver", according to the New York Post.
Merriam-Webster says it's added 370 new words, many of them slang terms dominating conversations - in real life and on the internet - today.
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Among them is the informal term "yeet", meaning "to throw something with force and without regard for the thing being thrown".
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.Other new words include "janky", meaning "poor quality", "pumpkin spice", referring to the popular Starbucks drink, and "own", which means "to dominate and defeat".
In an online post explaining its process for selecting new words, the publisher said, "The dictionary chronicles how the language grows and changes, which means new words and definitions must continually be added.
"When many people use a word in the same way, over a long enough period of time, that word becomes eligible for inclusion."
Some of these words might seem like they're relatively new to the English language, while some of them have been used for years.
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.For example, the newly-entered verb "MacGyver", has been used for years to mean fixing or making something with whatever tools are available, just like the main character of the 1980s television show.
And "pumpkin spice", now officially a noun, refers to "a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and allspice," first used in a popular Starbucks flavour in the US. Over the years this particular spice mix has been added to everything from desserts to hummus.
Several online dictionary users welcomed the new additions.
"This Vermonter who is EXTREMELY familiar with mud season is thrilled you added 'mud season' to the dictionary," one tweeted in response.
Another social media user cracked a joke in response to the addition of new word "laggy", meaning "having a delayed or slow response".
They wrote, "It's about ... wait for it ... time."
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