We bet that for many of you studying with us at the Harvest English Institute, an English dictionary might be your new best friend. Whether you use it to find the correct English translation of a word in your language, to find the right spelling of a word, or to clarify the meaning of a word, an English dictionary can come in handy for many reasons while improving your English language skills.

One English dictionary you may have come across already is the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which contains over 600,000 words. It is regarded around the world as an authority when it comes to the English language. Every year the OED publishes four updates in which new words, senses, and subentries are added and updated. At the end of last year, there were more than 600 new additions to the dictionary. Below we have highlighted a few to give you a little taste.

How many of these new words, senses, and phrases do you recognize?

Aperitivo

Our fellow students from Italy may find this word an interesting addition to the OED. This Italian word is popping up all over the English language thanks to a revival of the aperitif or appetizer, whereby you sit down with friends and family to enjoy a drink before an evening meal.

Chopsy

The most common meaning of the word chopsy is ‘having prominent, fleshy jowls’.

Downcycle

If you are passionate about fighting the war on plastic, you may have already come across the word downcycle. It refers to a way we can recycle materials by breaking them down to smaller parts to be reused.

Facepalm

When you facepalm, you are placing your hand over your face. You might be more familiar with facepalming in the form of the popular emoji- a gesture used to display frustration or embarrassment.

Hashtag

This word was made famous around the world via social media and is a word we think you will all recognize. Hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by the hash sign (#).

Imperceptively

This adjective derives from the noun Imperceptive, ‘not perceptive or lacking perception’. In other words: Random, chaotic or confused.

Slimeball

If someone calls you a slimeball, don’t take it as a compliment! A slimeball is a ‘repulsive or despicable person’.

TGIF

A popular acronym, TGIF stands for “Thank God It’s Friday” or “Thank Goodness It’s Friday”. It’s a common expression in the English language and is also incorporated as part of the name of the popular chain restaurant TGI Fridays.

Have you ever used any of these words? For the full list of words added to the latest edition of the OED click here. As a challenge for the start of 2019, how many of these new words can you incorporate into your everyday conversational English. Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Interested in enrolling in one of our English language courses at the Harvest English Institute in 2019? Get in touch with us to learn more about our courses at 0833 609 4646 or email us at harvest@harvest.net .