Cambridge Dictionary's 2024 word of the year is ...
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Cambridge Dictionary has announced its 2024 word of the year.
"When we choose a Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year, we have three considerations: user data, zeitgeist, and language," Wendalyn Nichols, Cambridge Dictionary’s publishing manager, said in the announcement.
This year’s pick was one of the most viewed words of 2024. It made the jump from the self-help community to mainstream media, with more than 130,000 searches for the word on the Cambridge Dictionary website.
What is the Cambridge Dictionary 2024 word of the year?
The 2024 Cambridge Dictionary word of the year is manifest.
The dictionary notes that the meaning of the word has changed since Chaucer used it in the 1300s. Now, it’s described as using "specific practices to focus your mind on something you want, to try to make it become a reality."
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"Manifest won this year because it increased notably in lookups, its use widened greatly across all types of media, and it shows how the meanings of a word can change over time," Nichols said.
Celebrities and "manifesting influencers" alike have helped the word gain popularity. The 2024 Paris Olympics and the Paralympics brought new attention to the word, with gold medal winners like Simone Biles, Ezra Frech and Mallory Weggemann crediting manifestation for their crowning achievements.
Sabrina Carpenter has also been called a "manifesting queen" for making it on stage with Taylor Swift for the Eras Tour. Dua Lipa once said she manifested a crowd of more than 100,000 for her performance at the Glastonbury Festival.
"Lookups of manifest increased around the date of 8/8/2024, which was considered a particularly powerful day for manifesting, keeping the many podcasts, blogs, and social media feeds buzzing with advice about how to ‘manifest your best life,’ especially in financial terms," Cambridge said.
Origins of manifest
The word manifest is a mix of Latin and French, according to Cambridge. It was first used in English as an adjective meaning "easily noticed or obvious," then as a verb meaning "to show something clearly."
The word has evolved even further over the past few centuries, more recently during the pandemic, "when internet searches for the word rose dramatically."
"People took to social media to share tips on manifesting anything from a dream house to a text back from their crush," Cambridge said.
Other word of the year nominees
Cambridge said the following words were considered for word of the year, but ultimately didn’t make the cut:
- brat – A brat is a child who misbehaves – but we can thank Charlie XCX for the adjective.
- ecotarian – Ecotarians are people who live in an environmentally conscious way.
- resilience : Resilience scored even higher than manifest did for total searches on Cambridge Dictionary’s website. "It’s a powerful word, reflecting the strength and adaptability needed in challenging times," Cambridge said.