Dictionary.com adds a bunch of AI-related words

In another sign generative AI has pierced through mass consciousness, Dictionary.com has added generative AI, GPT, and LLM to its list of words.

It also expanded the definition of hallucinate in the context of generative AI, where it means to produce false information contrary to the intent of the user and present the information as if it were true.

The site, which also runs Thesaurus.com (aka my best writing friend), announced 566 new entries and 348 new definitions for the fall of 2023 “as the dictionary works to keep pace with the ever-changing English language.” 

Other new words or expanded definitions include nepo baby (a celebrity with a famous parent), jawn (something or someone that doesn’t need a specific word), biohacking (strategic biological experimentation especially on one’s self), algo (computer algorithm), and information pollution (the introduction of falsehood, irrelevance, bias, and sensationalism into a source of information, resulting in the dilution of essential facts). 

Words from other languages, like hanbok (Korean traditional dress), jolabokaflod (an Icelandic tradition where books are given as Christmas presents), and kakeibo (a Japanese term for a system maintaining a household budget) were also added.

The company behind Dictionary.com didn’t just add generative AI to its word list. It also runs an AI-powered writing tool called Grammar Coach.

Dictionary.com and other dictionaries frequently update word lists as certain words, phrases, and meanings enter the popular lexicon or change. Which words they choose to add often present a snapshot of pop culture for that period. Last year, the site added shadow ban, review bombing, and pickleball. 

Popular tech terms often make it into dictionaries; metaverse, for example, almost won the Oxford English Dictionary’s 2022 “Word of the Year.” Too bad it lost out to goblin mode. 

Now, if only the spellcheck on Google Docs followed suit.