‘Oat Milk,’ ‘Plant-Based’ Among New Words Added to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary for 2022
The canonical English language reference has dropped this year's official inductees – including a few we're very familiar with
Unlock this article and more benefits with 40% off.
Already have an Outside Account? Sign in
40% Off Outside+.
$4.99/month $2.99/month*
Get the one subscription to fuel all your adventures.
- Map your next adventure with our premium GPS apps: Gaia GPS Premium and Trailforks Pro.
- Read unlimited digital content from 15+ brands, including Outside Magazine, Triathlete, Ski, Trail Runner, and VeloNews.
- Watch 600+ hours of endurance challenges, cycling and skiing action, and travel documentaries.
- Learn from the pros with expert-led online courses.
*Outside memberships are billed annually. You may cancel your membership at anytime, but no refunds will be issued for payments already made. Upon cancellation, you will have access to your membership through the end of your paid year. More Details
Language is constantly evolving as people find ways to talk about the world around them – and dictionaries do their best to keep up, chronicling the words that crossover from casual slang to permanent fixtures in our vocabulary. Merriam-Webster just dropped their list of new words for 2022 and we noticed a few we’re particularly familiar with.
Words about food is a staple for dictionary inductees, since clever cooks are always creating new dishes or adopting non-English-language words for foods into commonplace English parlance. Horchata and air fryer were in the previous batch of new words added to Merriam-Webster’s big book, back in October 2021.
This year’s new words have a particularly veggie-friendly tone – not surprising given the increase in plant-based eating in the English-speaking world. One Cornell University survey conducted in 2022 found 1 in 10 Americans now say they do not eat meat, a historically high number.
In fact, plant-based itself is now a dictionary word. Along with it, oat milk, pumpkin spice, raw el hanout, and others.
Plenty of non-food-related words are now presumably fair for your next game of Scrabble too, including subvariant (as in, of a virus), hoglet (a baby hedgehog), and janky (describing something of poor quality).
Find the complete list of new words for 2022 in this announcement from Merriam-Webster.
RELATED: Pumpkin Spice Lattes Are Back at Starbucks. They’re Still Not Vegan, So We Found Some Alternatives.
Get more of what you love from VT. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.