Discover new business-related word entries in the Oxford English Dictionary
Today is April 23rd. It’s also English Language Day! Started in 2010 by the United Nations, the objective was to promote multilingualism and cultural diversity. Also, April 23rd was chosen for English Language Day because it is the birthday of William Shakespeare!
This year celebrate English Language Day by dazzling your friends and colleagues with new English vocabulary!
In the real world, new words are adopted way before they become part of the dictionary. Some of these words are very popular in business situations - onboarding, or WIP, for example. Below is a list of words that, if they aren’t already, can easily be applied in the workplace.
Some English Fun Facts
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- There are 360 million native speakers of English in the world, making it the 3rd most widely spoken.
- Due to its status as “The Language of Business,” English is learned by many worldwide as a second language.
- English is the official language of the sky – all pilots speak in English on international flights.
- “E” is the most commonly used letter in the English language.
- There are 24 different dialects of English in the United States.
- “Pronunciation” is the most mispronounced English word.
- More words start with “S” than any other letter.
- Two of the shortest completed sentences in the English language are “Go.” and “I am.”
New English words for 2020
| e-waste, n. | “Worthless or inferior electronic text or content. Rare.” |
| futzing, n. | “Ineffectual or trifling activity; messing about; tinkering. Chiefly with around. i.e., futzing around.” |
| gist, v. | “Transitive. To reduce (a text, document, etc.) to its essence or gist; to condense, summarize, or make more precise.” |
| mentionitis, n. | “Originally: a tendency to mention something for the sake of comprehensiveness or exhaustiveness, rather than relevance (now rare).” |
| nanoplastic, n. | “A hypothetical material produced by nanotechnology, capable of changing its shape and other properties as required. Rare.” |
| onboarding, n. | “Business. The action or process of integrating a new employee into an organization, team, etc. Frequently as a modifier, as in onboarding process…” |
| weak sauce, adj. and n. | “That lacks power, substance, or credibility; pathetic, worthless; stupid.” |
| WIP n. | “work in progress.” |
Want to increase your vocabulary? Try playing Freerice! The World Food Programme’s English Vocabulary Game that helps feed the hungry.
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