Peter Sokolowski

​​The Merriam-Webster Dictionary's 'Word of the Year' is "authentic." We find out why. Also: what words mattered to you this year?

Peter Sokolowski discusses Merriam-Webster's 2022 word of the year.

Merriam Webster's Editor at Large Peter Sokolowki joins to discuss new entries in the dictionary.

This week, we're talking names. They're some of the first labels we get, and they can both reveal and conceal. Do they shape us? Or the other way around?

Merriam-Webster has noted that there's an increase in online searches for certain words at the start of the school year, and they've put together a list of "Top 10 Big Words on Campus". Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster editor at large who was recognized as one of TIME’s Best Twitter Feed’s of 2013, reviews the list of most searched-for terms by college students on Merriam-Webster's site.

Students: what was the last word that you looked up? Professors: which words do you commonly assign? Do they mostly learn toward cultural literacy? Are the words on this list typical? 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692.

"Pragmatic" is Merriam-Webster's choice for word of the year. Peter Sokolowski, lexicographer for Merriam-Webster, and Steve Kleinedler, executive editor of the American Heritage Dictionaries and their new book, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition, discuss why it was chosen.

»» What do you think of the decision? What would be your word of 2011? Post it here! | Tweet #blword