Oxford University Press published on its website in February a list of 8 new words in English which we will likely hear/read a lot in 2024. See definitions and examples below. Some have been in use for long, but now they have taken a new meaning.
- Prompt (noun) - an instruction given to an artificial intelligence program, which determines or influences the content it generates. Example: The prompt for the chatbot was to provide information on the latest tech trends.
- Heat dome (noun) - a persistent high-pressure weather system over a particular geographic area. It traps a mass of hot air below it. Example: The heat dome resulted in record-breaking temperatures across the region.
- Free-range (adjective) - when something (e.g. chickens, eggs) is free-range, it means that animals are kept in natural conditions and can move around freely, rather than being kept in cages. Example: I only buy free-range eggs.
- Situationship (noun) - a romantic or sexual relationship that is not considered to be formal and established. Example: They were in a situationship for months before deciding to make their relationship official.
- Figurehead (noun) - a person who has an important-sounding title or position in a group or organization but doesn't have much real power or authority
- Life admin (noun) - The routine tasks and responsabilities in daily life, such as paying bills, making appointments or organizing paperwork.
- Buzzed (adjective) - When you're buzzed, you're excited. Example: He was buzzed to hear the news.
- Large language model/LLM (noun) - a computer program or artificial intelligence system capable of understanding and generating human-like text based on extensive language training and data. Example: ChatGPT, a large language model (LLM), can generate coherent and contextually relevant responses to a wide range of text inputs.