Macquarie Dictionary

Macquarie Dictionary Australia's National Dictionary

Word of the Year: https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/word-of-the-year/word-of-the-year-2024/

The Macquarie Dictionary was first published in print in 1981 and has been online since 2003. Its reputation has gone from strength to strength and it is now nationally and internationally regarded as the standard reference on Australian English. The Macquarie Dictionary features:

* easy, comprehensive and interactive searching
* annual updates of words, definitions and encyclopedic entries
* re

gionalisms from around Australia
* etymologies of words and phrases
* extensive usage notes
* loads of extra features

piccalilli: a highly seasoned pickle, of East Indian origin, made of chopped vegetables.
28/12/2025

piccalilli: a highly seasoned pickle, of East Indian origin, made of chopped vegetables.

straphanger: a passenger in an overfull bus, train, or the like who has to stand holding on to a strap suspended from ...
19/12/2025

straphanger: a passenger in an overfull bus, train, or the like who has to stand holding on to a strap suspended from above.

heartbroken: crushed with sorrow or grief.
14/12/2025

heartbroken: crushed with sorrow or grief.

baize: a soft, usually green, woollen fabric resembling felt, used chiefly for the tops of billiard and card tables.
09/12/2025

baize: a soft, usually green, woollen fabric resembling felt, used chiefly for the tops of billiard and card tables.

hierocracy: rule or government by priests or ecclesiastics.
07/12/2025

hierocracy: rule or government by priests or ecclesiastics.

indeterminism: the doctrine that human actions, though somewhat influenced by pre-existing psychological and other con...
03/12/2025

indeterminism: the doctrine that human actions, though somewhat influenced by pre-existing psychological and other conditions, are not entirely governed by them, but contain a certain freedom and spontaneity.

apollonian: serene; stately; poised; having the properties of classic beauty.
30/11/2025

apollonian: serene; stately; poised; having the properties of classic beauty.

And for the second year running (and only the fourth time in history), the public have aligned with the Committee’s choi...
25/11/2025

And for the second year running (and only the fourth time in history), the public have aligned with the Committee’s choice by selecting AI slop to be crowned People’s Choice Word of the Year 2025! Honourable mentions also go to medical misogyny and attention economy.

It's safe to say the voting public ate (and left no crumbs) in crowning their winner 💁‍♀️

The Word of the Year often reflects a major aspect of society or societal change throughout the year, and this year’s results are no different. While large language models and AI as a whole are not new, it is undeniable how they are now directly affecting our lives and have become a major part of public discourse over the past 12 months.

See below for what the Committee had to say on the public's honourable mentions:

On medical misogyny 🚺

‘Not only aligning with the Committee for the winner, the public were overwhelmingly clear in their call to arms in bringing attention to medical misogyny.’

On attention economy 🧠

‘Not only aligning with the Committee for the winner, the public were overwhelmingly clear in their call to arms in bringing attention to medical misogyny.’

Did your vote make it into public's top choices? Think your favourite word missed out this year? Let us know in the comments below!

The Committee's Choice for 2025 Word of the Year is AI Slop, with honourable mentions to both clanker and medical misogy...
25/11/2025

The Committee's Choice for 2025 Word of the Year is AI Slop, with honourable mentions to both clanker and medical misogyny🏆👏🏻

See below for what the Committee had to say about these top choices:

On AI Slop 🗑

‘We understand now in 2025 what we mean by slop — AI generated slop, which lacks meaningful content or use. While in recent years we’ve learnt to become search engineers to find meaningful information, we now need to become prompt engineers in order to wade through the AI slop. Slop in this sense will be a robust addition to English for years to come. The question is, are the people ingesting and regurgitating this content soon to be called AI sloppers?’

On clanker 🤖

‘We’ve all had to prompt engineer and fight our way past a clanker to get to a real person this past year. That there is such negative language fast appearing to describe these AI-driven services is a reflection of our frustration and dissatisfaction.’

On medical misogyny 🚺

‘It’s not simply about where funding goes or the prioritising of male issues over female issues, nor is it simply relevant to the events of 2025, but it’s about what’s been happening, on so many levels, since antiquity. Even our language for anatomy mirrors this – with more than 800 anatomical parts of the body named after men.’

What are your thoughts on the Committee's choices?

the new name for real-life quidditch, where the aim is to score goals by putting a ball through any of three vertical ho...
23/11/2025

the new name for real-life quidditch, where the aim is to score goals by putting a ball through any of three vertical hoops at each end of the field.

Read what this shortlist entry means to Canberra Quadball Club, The Canberra Gang-gangs.

🚨VOTING CLOSES AT MIDNIGHT 🚨

Have your say in the People's Choice Word of the Year! VOTE NOW at the link in our bio

the act of isolating oneself in a bathroom or bathroom cubicle for a period of time, as to seek solitude, avoid work, re...
23/11/2025

the act of isolating oneself in a bathroom or bathroom cubicle for a period of time, as to seek solitude, avoid work, regulate emotions.

This one goes out to all our readers currently suffering from the ✨Sunday Scaries ✨

Have your say in the People's Choice Word of the Year! VOTE NOW at the link in our bio.

🚨⏳🚨⏳🚨VOTING CLOSES AT MIDNIGHT! 🚨⏳🚨⏳🚨It's not too late to have your say for the official People's Choice Word of the Ye...
23/11/2025

🚨⏳🚨⏳🚨VOTING CLOSES AT MIDNIGHT! 🚨⏳🚨⏳🚨

It's not too late to have your say for the official People's Choice Word of the Year for 2025! You'll go in the run to winning a book pack valued at RRP $300 and snag your very own copy of Macquarie's upcoming release DIRTY POLITICS.

Head to the link in our bio to VOTE NOW!

May the best word win...

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