Cambridge Dictionary 2024 Word of the Year “manifest”

The word of the year in the world's most popular dictionary is “performance.” How and why the word was chosen—and how its meaning has radically changed over the past five years.

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This week, the prestigious Cambridge Dictionary announced its word of the year: “manifest.” While a few years ago it was mainly young women on social media who knew what this meant (today) it should now be known to the wider public as well. The world's most popular dictionary now takes this into account while asking itself:

Yes – why? Cambridge Dictionaries answers these and other questions about the word of the year on the theme of manifesting.

What exactly does “performance” mean?

Previously used as a word for “to show something clearly”, English dictionaries now also (or mainly) understand it to mean the following:

According to Cambridge Dictionary, when famous artists, top athletes, and influential entrepreneurs claim they achieved something because they “manifested” it (we all remember Melanie Wenig “manifested” hers Boyfriend), by which they mean, according to the Cambridge Dictionary: “someone who uses certain practices to focus on what they want in order to try to make it happen.” In other words: the power of ideas and positive thinking in the end Will bring desired goals.

How the word “performance” has changed over time

“Manifesto” was looked up nearly 130,000 times on the Cambridge Dictionary website, making it one of the most searched words in 2024, according to the dictionary. This year, the word has made the leap from social media platforms to mainstream media, thereby entering the daily usage of many “normal” people.

The practice of showing up has grown in popularity during the pandemic, especially on social media. At that time, Internet searches for the term increased dramatically:

The purpose of making these queries on the Internet is or mainly to get tips that will make everything possible – from your dream house to your dream job to the long-awaited answer to your crush.

As Cambridge Dictionary points out, the use of the word “manifestation” is growing in popularity as more “manifestation influencers” spread this “scientifically unproven practice” on social media. So much so that it was finally included in Cambridge Dictionary in May 2023.

It became extremely popular when pop stars and celebrities also started promoting it: for example, earlier this year, pop singer Sabrina Carpenter was dubbed ” “Queen of Performances” with Taylor Swift. Singer Dua Lipa said she performed in front of more than 100,000 people at Glastonbury Festival.

If you look closely, you’ll also notice that this year has seen a historic summer peak in global Google searches. Cambridge Dictionary explains: “From late July to early September 2024, the Olympic and Paralympic Games bring global attention, with Simone Biles, Ezra Frech and Gold medalists like Mallory Weggemann attribute their success to the practice of performance.”

In Switzerland, the peak of Google search queries was even more pronounced in April this year, the month the SRF documentary about Melanie Winiger and her “art of expression” was released.

How the word of the year is chosen

According to the most popular dictionary's website, three factors are considered when choosing Cambridge Dictionaries' Word of the Year: user data, zeitgeist and language.

Ask the following question: “Which word is most frequently looked up or particularly popular? Which word most truly reflects what happened that year? What is interesting about this word from a linguistic perspective?”

Cambridge Director's Dictionary said “Manifest” won this year “because it has seen a significant increase in searches, its use has increased significantly across all media and it shows how a word's meaning changes over time.” “.

whatever word is still running

For example, another word on the 2024 list is “brat” — inspired by the title of singer Charli XCX's album of the same name, released in June. Earlier this month, the renowned English dictionary Collins named “brat” its word of the year, defining it as “a person characterized by confidence, independence, and a hedonistic attitude.”

Also included is the word “resilience,” which means “strength” and “adaptability.” or “ecologists,” referring to the trend toward environmentally conscious living.

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These are the English “Words of the Year” from the past decade: