‘Beast mode’ to ‘teraflop’: 10 words from the Merriam-Webster dictionary update

Advertisement

Advertise with us

NEW YORK (AP) — Merriam-Webster on Thursday announced a major overhaul of its popular “Collegiate” dictionary. The company has added more than 5,000 terms. Here's a few of them with definitions — and some usage examples of our own.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/09/2025 (347 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEW YORK (AP) — Merriam-Webster on Thursday announced a major overhaul of its popular “Collegiate” dictionary. The company has added more than 5,000 terms. Here’s a few of them with definitions — and some usage examples of our own.

Beast mode

DEFINITION: An extremely aggressive or energetic style or manner that someone adopts temporarily to overpower an opponent in a fight or competition.

This image released by Merriam-Webster shows a copy of the 12th edition of the
This image released by Merriam-Webster shows a copy of the 12th edition of the "Collegiate Dictionary." (Merriam-Webster via AP)

EXAMPLE: He needed to go beast mode to crush the hot dog eating contest.

Dad bod

DEFINITION: A physique regarded as typical of an average father, especially one that is slightly overweight and not extremely muscular.

EXAMPLE: Harry rocked a dad bod even before the birth of his first child.

Dumbphone

DEFINITION: A cellphone that does not include advanced software features, such as email or an internet browser typically found on smartphones.

EXAMPLE: Want to really get lost? Destroy your smartphone, buy a burner dumbphone and head for the hills.

Farm-to-table

DEFINITION: Involving or advocating the direct sale and distribution of food from its point of origin to customers.

EXAMPLE: Farm-to-table, shmarm-to-table. Jack wants a Big Mac, not a pricey restaurant meal.

Hard pass

DEFINITION: A firm refusal or rejection of something, such as an offer.

EXAMPLE: The egg salad’s been in the sun for six hours. That’s a hard pass for me, Suzy.

Love language

DEFINITION: A person’s characteristic means of showing love or care for another.

EXAMPLE: Charlie’s dating profile says his love language is making mac and cheese. Could go either way, dude.

Petrichor

DEFINITION: A distinctive, earthy, usually pleasant odor that is associated with rainfall, especially when following a warm, dry period.

EXAMPLE: Molly refused to let the weather dampen her mood, especially as the petrichor reminded her of cozy rainy days past.

Rizz

DEFINITION: Romantic appeal or charm.

EXAMPLE: “You come here often?” Joe’s rizz was way, WAY off.

Side-eye

DEFINITION: A sidelong glance or gaze, especially when expressing scorn, suspicion, disapproval or veiled curiosity.

EXAMPLE: Anna side-eyes every man in white socks and sandals. That’s all.

Teraflop

DEFINITION: A unit of measure for the calculating speed of a computer equal to one trillion floating-point operations per second.

EXAMPLE: Cough up enough teraflops to let me bed rot with my PlayStation.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Smith’s pretzel logic confuses

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Smith’s pretzel logic confuses

Editorial 4 minute read Saturday, Sep. 5, 2026

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith had both sides of her mouth working overtime on Aug. 30, when she spoke at an event in Calgary to commemorate Alberta Day, the annual celebration of the province’s entry into Confederation in 1905 (officially Sept. 1, it was celebrated on the weekend).

Smith’s comments — and the things she did not say — revealed a lot about the political tightrope the premier is trying to walk over the challenges currently faced by her province. At the top of that list of challenges is a persistent campaign to separate Alberta from the aforementioned Confederation. A campaign that Smith appears to both support and oppose, depending on which day of the week it is.

Her Alberta Day remarks were an excellent case in point.

Smith has decided that on Oct. 19, Albertans will vote on a series of non-binding propositions in a province referendum. One of those questions will ask Albertans whether they want to hold a referendum on separation, thus making this fall’s vote a “referendum on whether to hold a referendum,” as some observers have dubbed it.

Read
Saturday, Sep. 5, 2026

Man injured in downtown shooting

1 minute read Yesterday at 2:40 PM CDT

A man in his 20s is in critical condition after he was shot in downtown Winnipeg early Sunday morning.

The Winnipeg Police Service's major crimes unit is investigating and no arrests have been made.

Police responded to the area of Portage Avenue and Balmoral Street, near the University of Winnipeg campus, at about 4:20 a.m. Sept. 6 for the report of a male suffering a gunshot wound. Police provided first aid to the victim, who was taken to hospital.

Today’s horoscope

Georgia Nicols 4 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

MOON ALERT: Avoid shopping (except food and gas) and important decisions from 8 a.m. until noon today. After that, the moon moves from Cancer into Leo.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Hang in there, because as this day progresses, it becomes more lighthearted and fun-loving. Admittedly, power struggles with a friend or member of a group might squelch things. Be patient with kids. Basically, this is a friendly and productive day.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

For newcomer pizza purveyors, it’s all about crafting solid foundations

David Sanderson 7 minute read Preview

For newcomer pizza purveyors, it’s all about crafting solid foundations

David Sanderson 7 minute read Saturday, Sep. 5, 2026

A recent poll conducted by an Internet-based market-research firm determined that close to 20 per cent of people eschew their leftover pizza crust.

Some argued that the residual crust lacks flavour. Others submitted that it’s too hard or crunchy to enjoy sans toppings. Given that information, what are we to make of Crusty Craft Pizza, a five-month-old takeout spot whose owners are so confident in their European-style pizza crust that they’ve chosen to highlight it in their business moniker?

Whenever somebody informs them they don’t like pizza crust, their response is, well, they haven’t tried theirs, says Oleksii Samokvhal, who together with his wife, Iryna Mehedyn, opened Crusty Craft Pizza in early April, at 1311 Day St. in Transcona.

“It’s thin in the middle, with raised edges we hand-form ourselves,” says Mehedyn, a native of Ukraine who, like her Kyiv-born husband, relocated to Winnipeg to escape the conflict in their home country.

Read
Saturday, Sep. 5, 2026

Politicians who harp on Klein’s history with Nygard do so at their own peril

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Preview

Politicians who harp on Klein’s history with Nygard do so at their own peril

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Friday, Sep. 4, 2026

It was probably the easiest prediction to make in Winnipeg politics this week: the moment Kevin Klein officially entered the mayoral race, someone would bring up Peter Nygard.

Sure enough, they did.

And it was led by Klein’s chief political opponent in this race, Mayor Scott Gillingham, who called Klein a “fixer” for the convicted sex offender.

None of this is particularly surprising.

Read
Friday, Sep. 4, 2026

‘We belong… and we are giving back”: Sikh celebration enlivens downtown Winnipeg

Melissa Martin 3 minute read Preview

‘We belong… and we are giving back”: Sikh celebration enlivens downtown Winnipeg

Melissa Martin 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 5:59 PM CDT

Downtown Winnipeg came alive with vibrant sights, sounds, and scents on Sunday, as Manitoba’s Sikh community flocked to Memorial Park to celebrate its annual Nagar Kirtan procession and festival.

This year marked the 422nd anniversary of the completion of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture central to the Sikh faith. Shortly after 1 p.m., a palanquin bearing a copy of the scripture was led in parade through downtown Winnipeg, with musical accompaniment.

“This is a chance to tell the public and the whole community where we come from and who we are,” said volunteer Prabh Grewal shortly before the procession got underway. “In a community there are people from every race and every country, and our main objective is to have everybody live in peace and harmony together.”

Before, during, and after the procession, the park hummed with life. As many as 55,000 people converged on the site, with the majority dressed in festive traditional attire. Near the height of the day’s 30 C heat, families relaxed in patches of shade, enjoying plates of Punjabi cuisine dished out for free at dozens of tents sponsored by local businesses.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 5:59 PM CDT