No prizes for word of the year, or are there?

CORONAVIRUS has been named the “children’s word of the year” after it dominated submissions from young writers to a BBC story competition.

Oxford University Press lexicographers analysed words in entries to the Radio 2 500 Words contest. The word appeared even though the competition closed on Feb 27, before the lockdown.

Coronavirus was mentioned 459 times, and there was increased use of words associated with the pandemic, such as NHS, virus, antibodies, Wuhan and lockdown.

The Australian bushfires and their impact on wildlife also featured, and there were increased mentions of Greta Thunberg, though the person referred to most in the 134,709 stories was Donald Trump, the US president.

The 2019 word of the year was Brexit. The winning stories will be read by stars including David Walliams, Dua Lipa, Joanna Lumley, Jodie Whittaker and Mwaka Mudenda on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on Friday.