'Looksmaxxing' to 'Cuffing Season': Merriam-Webster Adds 1.4K Words

The dictionary just got a little 2026 update. Merriam-Webster has rolled out about 1,400 additions and updates, reports NBC News, capturing everything from your fall situationship to your crypto gambles. Among the newly official: "cuffing season," "looksmaxxing," "meme coin," "vibe coding," "shapewear," "parasocial," and "superfood." Also making the list is "yacht rock," which MassLive encourages you to think of as akin to the not-so-2026 Christopher Cross hit, "Sailing."

Merriam-Webster is also leaning into AI-era anxieties with "uncanny valley," defined as that unsettling reaction to something that looks almost—but not quite—human. The expansion follows the company's choice of "slop" as its 2025 word, meaning low-grade digital content churned out by artificial intelligence. As for how a term graduates into the dictionary, the company says it's a matter of sustained, widespread, and meaningful use—evaluated by definers and senior editors, not by committee votes or advocacy campaigns. A 2026 Word of the Year has yet to be named.