“My pumpkin spice latte tasted sus, so I yeeted it across the room.”
Confused by that sentence?
Look the words up in Merriam-Webster.
“Pumpkin spice,” “sus,” and “yeet” are among 370 words newly added to the iconic dictionary. While pumpkin spice is self-explanatory, “sus” and “yeet” may need some context.
“Sus” is short for suspicious or suspect, and “yeet” is slang for throw.
Slang terms make up a large part of the new entries, and words associated with the business and technological world (“shrinkflation” and “metaverse“) and healthcare (“subvariant” and “booster dose“) were also included.
sponcon : content posted usually by an influencer on social media that looks like a typical post but for which the poster has been paid to advertise a product or service
Merriam-Webster
Merriam-Webster says its criteria for adding words is their sustained and widespread use.
Some of the latest terms are widely seen across social media, including “virtue signaling,” which means to publicly show support for social and political issues without taking any effective actions.
You’ve also likely seen “sponcon” while scrolling through social media. That’s when an influencer is paid to advertise a product or service in a post.
“Pumpkin spice” was not the only food term to make the cut. Sushi lovers might recognize “omakase,” which refers to a series of sushi selections according to the chef’s choice. Another new entry, “mojo,” is defined as a sauce, marinade or seasoning that is usually composed primarily of olive oil, garlic, citrus juice, and spices (such as black pepper and cumin).
A word you may remember from your childhood is also being welcomed into the dictionary. A “cootie catcher” is “a child’s toy that consists of paper folded into four pyramid-shaped parts that are manipulated by the fingers to open and close, with each part having a flap that can be unfolded to reveal an answer to one’s question about the future.”
You can see more of the featured new words here.