News

Meet 5,000 Brand-New Scrabble Words

by Lauren Barbato

Ever since "selfie" was added to the dictionary, it's only been a matter of time before you could break it out on a Scrabble board for nine points. For the first time in over a decade, Scrabble is updating its dictionary with 5,000 new words, so now you can quit challenging whether or not "te" counts as a word. (Clue: It does now!) The newly revised Official Scrabble Players Dictionary from Merriam-Webster will be released Aug. 11, so make sure to brush up on your Scrabble skills in the coming days.

First published in 1978, the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary currently features more than 100,000 acceptable words. Still, that wasn't enough for dedicated Scrabble players, including North American Scrabble Players Association champion Robin Pollock Daniel. "Being able to hook an 'e' underneath 't' means that I can play far more words," Daniel told The Associated Press. "The more two-letter words we have, the more possibilities a word will fit."

Peter Sokolowski, editor at large for Merriam-Webster, added in a statement:

Language is constantly evolving and new words are added to Merriam-Webster dictionaries on an ongoing basis. Now thousands of those words can officially be played on the Scrabble game board, as long as they meet the Scrabble game's criteria for length and styling.

Merriam-Webster has yet to publicly release the entire 5,000-word list, but the dictionary company did give us a taste of what's new. Here are some of the weirdest new words appearing on a Scrabble board near you:

John Gichigi/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images

Coqui

Mark Wilson/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Noun: a small, singing tree frog native to Puerto Rico.

Ponzu

Noun: a Japanese, citrus-based dipping sauce.

Joypad

Andreas Rentz/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Noun: an input device that controls video game consoles.

Chillax

Verb: to keep calm and carry on.

Qajaq

Sean Gallup/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Noun: The Inuit word for a kayak.

Te, Da, Gi And Po

Two-letter words that don't really mean anything, beside more points for Scrabble players.

Everyone's Favorite Internet Words

These new-fangled tech words don't need any explanation: selfie, hashtag, texter, vodcast and vlog. Welcome to the 21st century, Scrabble. Finally.