(WXYZ) — As we approach the end of the year, Merriam-Webster has released its list of the 10 "words of the year" for 2019.
The Word of the Year for 2019 is "They," according to Merriam-Webster.
"It reflects a surprising fact: even a basic term—a personal pronoun—can rise to the top of our data. Although our lookups are often driven by events in the news, the dictionary is also a primary resource for information about language itself, and the shifting use of they has been the subject of increasing study and commentary in recent years," it says on the website.
According to Merriam-Webster, lookups for "they" increased by 313 percent in 2019 compared to 2018.
The other words of the year are below.
- Quid pro quo – Increase of 644% after the investigation into President Trump's phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
- Impeach – Increase of 129% on Sept. 24 after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced an impeachment inquiry
- Crawdad – Increase of 1,200% when the author of "Where the Crawdads Sing" was interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning
- Egregious – Increase of 450% in October when reports came out about a Boeing pilot using the word to describe issues with 737 Max planes
- Clemency – Increase of 9,900% in January after the Tennessee governor granted clemency to Cyntonia Brown
- The – Increase in 500% when Ohio State filed a trademark application for the word "the."
- Snitty – Increased by 150,000% when AG William Barr used the word to describe a letter sent to him by Robert Mueller in May
- Tergiversation – Increased by 39,000% on Jan. 24 after it was used in a Washington Post column about the government shutdown
- Camp – Increased 5,800% in May after a gala celebrating "Camp: Notes of Fashion"
- Exculpate – Increased 23,000% in July after Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller used the word in testimony in front of the House
