"Lockdown" is Collins Dictionary's word of the year

This will shock no one: Collins Dictionary’s word of the year is “lockdown.”

And still unsurprisingly, other contenders for that honor were “coronavirus,” “furlough,” “social distancing,” “self-isolate,” and “key worker.” 

(Well, that final one might have tripped up a few US readers, since we refer to them as “essential workers.”)

The dictionary’s editors report that registered over a quarter-million uses of “lockdown” this year, versus a mere 4,000 last year.

If you need any of the words we listed defined — or, more likely, if you’d like to see the non-COVID honorees — head to the Collins Dictionary blog.

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