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Usage Notes

Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?

The awkward case of 'his or her'

"Everyone should do his or her best in whatever situations he or she happens to find himself or herself in?" That's awkward. Perhaps everyone should just do their best in the situations they find themselves in. Even if their best involves they as a singular pronoun.

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play video his or her
Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?

 

The awkward case of 'his or her'

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Why Did Yankee Doodle Call a Feather 'Macaroni'?

 

What's with his feathered cap?

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A Look at Uncommon Onomatopoeia

 

Some imitative words are more surprising than others

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How a Word Gets into the Dictionary

 

What our editors are looking for when they enter words in Merriam-Webster.

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Some Odd Words with ISMO: "Junk in the Trunk"

 

Comedian ISMO on what separates a boot from a trunk

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What Is 'Semantic Bleaching'?

 

How 'literally' can mean "figuratively"

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On Contractions of Multiple Words

 

You all would not have guessed some of these

Games & Quizzes

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Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game You can make only 12 words. Pick the best ones!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A crossword with a twist
winning words from the national spelling bee logo
Spelling Bee Quiz Can you outdo past winners of the National Spelli...