Word of the year inspired by game

“Homer” is Word of the Year, according to the world’s most popular online dictionary for learners of English.

The winning word from Cambridge Dictionary was searched for nearly 75,000 times during the first week of May, when it was an answer in the word game Wordle, to become the dictionary’s highest-spiking word of the year.

In 2022, five-letter Wordle answers dominated the topranking dictionary searches as Wordle became a global phenomenon.

Some 95% of the searches for “homer”, an informal American English word for a “home run” in baseball, were from outside of North America, as disgruntled Wordle players turned to the Cambridge Dictionary to learn what it meant.

Cambridge Dictionary, with its commitment to providing trusted guidance on the use of both British and American English words, was ideally positioned to settle debates.

The American spelling of “humor” caused the second highest spike in 2022.