Other entries include AGI, yacht rock, and California sober.

Ever heard of “looksmaxxing”? If you haven’t, your child might have – it’s an online term referring to the sometimes extreme pursuit of physical perfection.

Maybe you’ve been “Rickrolled”, or sent a link to Rick Astley’s "Never Gonna Give You Up" music video in disguise as a prank. To handle this humiliation, perhaps you’ll indulge in “copium”, or the “avoidance, denial, or minimisation” of a negative or embarrassing circumstance or situation.

These are all examples of the 1,400 new words and definitions recently added to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary. The additions “reflect words and meanings that have demonstrated widespread use over time, offering a window into the world today,” the dictionary’s site reads. 

Some of these fresh entries – AGI, short for “artificial general intelligence”, and “glow-up,” which means a “dramatic positive change in someone or something’s physical appearance” – feel quite zeitgeist-y. 

But Merriam-Webster said that it’s trying to avoid entering “flash in the pan” trends into their centuries-old publication.

Instead, the dictionary looks for words which meet three criteria: frequent, widespread, and meaningful use. 

That means additions have to be used often, over a sustained period of time. People from different industries and locations need to be able to recognise the word, and it has to have a useful meaning. 

Still, there is “no committee, no advocacy, no meetings for new word inclusion” for this edition. 

A suggestion can be denied but later admitted; time may prove or disprove its relevance.

Here are some of the new entries, as well as their meanings:

If you want to see how up-to-date your slang knowledge is, read our Gen Z guide.