All the new additions to the Oxford English Dictionary, from 'fake news’ to ‘sumfin’
More than 650 words added
www.independent.co.ukHere’s the latest I can share based on recent reporting up to 2025–2026.
- The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) periodically updates with new words, senses, and revisions four times a year, adding hundreds of entries each cycle. These updates often include contemporary terms, slang, and words from diverse language origins, reflecting ongoing changes in English usage.[1][3]
- In late 2024, the OED announced a major update with updates totaling over 500 new words, phrases, and senses, highlighting terms like content creator, cosy crime, and words from West African, Japanese, and Korean origins.[1]
- Media coverage in 2019 and earlier highlighted the ongoing evolution of the OED as the language expands, with a focus on new words and senses; more recent coverage continues to emphasize online availability and quarterly updates rather than a single print edition.[2][4]
- The OED’s platform and updating model have shifted toward online access, with the full dictionary updated regularly on the web rather than through periodic, large-print editions, aligning with ongoing digital publishing trends in lexicography.[4][5]
If you’d like, I can pull the very latest exact update dates and the newest entries from the current OED release notes and summarize the top 20 new words with definitions and origins. I can also provide a brief explainer of how OED updates are structured (new headwords vs new senses vs unrevised entries).