What 1,400 New Dictionary Entries Say About American English

Autumn 2026 has brought a fresh wave of dictionary updates, and the entries give a concrete picture of which words have enough staying power to be recorded. Merriam-Webster added 1,400 new words and definitions to its online dictionary in September, while the Oxford English Dictionary’s latest quarterly update added more than 400 new words, phrases and senses. Across both projects, the new vocabulary clusters around technology, internet culture, food, and the social habits of colder months.

Merriam-Webster’s autumn expansion

The publisher announced the additions on 16 September, and the list spans internet slang, dating terms, artificial-intelligence vocabulary and food. In a statement it said: “The new entries reflect words and meanings that have demonstrated widespread use over time, offering a window into the world today.”

Among the buzziest additions is “glow-up,” which Merriam-Webster defines as “a usually dramatic enhancement especially to someone’s or something’s physical appearance.” The dictionary itself called the update a “glow-up” of its own. Other entries include “looksmaxxing,” “parasocial,” “Rickroll,” “meme coin,” “promposal” and the “Mandela Effect.” For readers who like a daily calendar beyond dictionary word-of-the-day picks, daily zodiac readings offer another way to mark the season.

Cuffing season and lighter additions

The most discussed seasonal entry is “cuffing season,” defined by Merriam-Webster as “a time of the year when people who are not married or in a relationship begin looking for a short-term romantic partner to spend the colder months of the year with.” The phrase sits alongside “Sunday scaries” — the feeling of anxiety or sadness knowing the weekend is ending — and “California sober,” which the dictionary says means using marijuana and/or alcohol while abstaining from other drugs like cocaine or meth.

Other lighter terms range from “trash panda,” an affectionate nickname for raccoons, to “neckbeard,” “yacht rock” and “shapewear.” The food entries include “superfood,” “bao,” “cake pop” and “chili crisp.” If the leisure vocabulary puts you in mind of a card game, you can play Let It Ride free with virtual chips while the dictionary catches up.

Tech, AI and internet culture

Technology is a major thread. Merriam-Webster added “vibe coding” and “AGI,” short for artificial general intelligence, alongside “compute” as a noun. “Uncanny valley” was also added, defined by the company as “that creepy feeling that results from something artificial appearing almost—but not quite—human.”

Internet culture contributes “Rickroll” — to prank someone into listening to Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” — as well as “meme coin” and the “Mandela Effect.” In 2025 the publisher chose “slop” as word of the year after expanding its definition to include artificial-intelligence-generated digital content of low quality, and this year’s additions continue to map how platforms and AI systems shape everyday speech.

Merriam-Webster’s October word-of-the-day calendar includes Luddite, inscrutable, etiquette, heterodox and tittle, a reminder that dictionaries also keep older words visible while new ones enter.

A wider Oxford view

The Oxford English Dictionary’s September 2026 update added more than 400 new words, phrases and senses, including “hot yoga,” “fantabulosa,” “will-they-won’t-they” and “auto-reply.” Coffee drinks were a small cluster: “Café Cubano,” “café con leche,” “cafezinho” and “cold brew” all joined the dictionary shortly before International Coffee Day on 1 October.

The OED release also shows how English is being documented beyond American usage, with contributions from East Africa, the Caribbean, Bermuda, New Zealand, Wales and the Isle of Man. Bermudian additions such as “shadeesh” and “hamma” arrived through a collaboration with the Bermuda Spelling Bee. New words for supernatural creatures include the Welsh “bwbach,” Caribbean “jablesse” and Trinbagonian “douen.” For readers whose daily schedule is built around prayer rather than word lists, prayer times for your city can provide a different kind of exact reference.

What to watch as the year closes

Merriam-Webster is expected to name its word of the year in the coming months, according to BBC News, and the autumn additions provide a shortlist of what has occupied American English in 2026. The pattern is not a single new slang style but a widening of the dictionary to include urgent tech terms and durable everyday phrases. If you want to follow the next quarterly OED update or the publisher’s word-of-the-year announcement, the entries above are a practical baseline.