‘Rickroll’ and ‘looksmaxxing’ are official: Merriam-Webster adds 1,400 new words to dictionary website

( WWLP ) – Merriam-Webster.com has added 1,400 new words and definitions to its dictionary, reflecting the widespread use of updated and evolving language.

Among the new entries are words stemming from social media . It’s not surprising, given the internet’s impact on how people speak with and understand one another. They include:

Looksmaxxing: the practice of taking one or more sometimes extreme or dangerous measures intended to increase one’s physical attractiveness

Parasocial : relating to or involving a one-sided emotional connection with someone (especially a celebrity or fictional character) whom one does not know personally

Rickroll : to trick (someone) into hearing the song “Never Gonna Give You Up” by English singer Rick Astley

As technology evolves, new definitions in that arena enter the general lexicon, such as the word compute as a noun, defined as “the computational resources (such as memory and processing power) required for a computer or computer program to function.”

Additional entries include AGI (artificial general intelligence), vibe coding (using AI to create computer code) and uncanny valley (an uneasy feeling you get in response to human simulation).

In the food category, Merriam-Webster expanded its palette with items such as cake pop , shishito, bao and chili crisp . The term superfood, defined as “a food (such as salmon, broccoli, or blueberries) that is rich in nutrients,” also made its debut.

Modern terms that have appeared in recent years have also received official definitions, shaped by pop culture and shared experiences. Examples include:

Cuffing season: 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

Yacht rock: a style of soft rock music originating in the 1970s and 1980s

Crashout : A: a mental or emotional breakdown, B: an emotional outburst or tantrum

Sunday scaries : feelings of anxiety or sadness that arise on Sunday from the knowledge that the weekend is almost over

Copium: avoidance, denial, or minimization (as of a bad situation, problem, outcome, etc.) imagined as a narcotic

Mandela Effect : the experience of many people having the same false memory (coined by researcher Fiona Broome , who remembered the prison death of former South African President Nelson Mandela, though that didn’t happen.)

For a full list of the new entries, visit Merriam-Webster.com . It is the oldest dictionary company in the United States and is headquartered in Springfield, Mass.