Oxford Word of 2024 Shortlist Revealed for Public Vote

Oxford University Press has identified six potential words that best represent the year 2024. The current shortlist for the Oxford Word of 2024 features terms related to ticketing controversies, popular TikTok content, and categories of fiction books. These selected words will now be presented for a public vote, with the winning word to be revealed on 2 December. Casper Grathwol, president of Oxford Languages, stated that the 2024 shortlist provides a “snapshot of the topics that have caught our interest and imagination and kept us talking.” He further commented, “The words we choose reflect who we are and remind us of the power that language holds to shape the world around us.” Grathwol also noted that a “particularly unique” aspect of this year’s choices was the “range of words associated with bygone eras that have slid back into public consciousness.” This observation specifically refers to the terms demure and lore, which have re-entered public awareness due to their renewed popularity on social media platforms. Additionally, other words on the shortlist are linked to specific occurrences over the last 12 months. An example of this is dynamic pricing, which gained prominence during the summer when Ticketmaster implemented this approach for the highly anticipated Oasis reunion tour. Previous winners of the award include words such as chav, selfie, and sudoku, while rizz was recognized with the prize in 2023. Fiona McPherson, a senior editor on the New Words team for the Oxford English Dictionary, previously informed the BBC that the selection process for the award entails identifying a word that “somehow encapsulates something about that year.” She acknowledged, “It’s hard to get something that will speak to everyone’s experience.” This year commemorates the 20th anniversary of the awards, and Ms McPherson described the winners from the last two decades as being “like a time capsule.” Vax was selected in 2021 during the peak of the Covid-19 vaccine deployment, post-truth received the award in 2016, aligning with Donald Trump’s victory in the US election, and in 2015, the crying-with-laughter emoji became the sole symbol to earn the distinction. When questioned about her preferred winner from the past two decades, Ms McPherson indicated it “had to be selfie,” which won in 2013. She further explained, “That really sticks in my mind because it’s possibly the only time that everybody was in complete agreement that ‘it has to be this’.” For updates, BBC Oxfordshire can be followed on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding its policy on external linking is available.