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‘Lockdown’ is 2020 word of the year

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The word ‘lockdown’ has been named 2020 Word of the Year by Collins Dictionary.

Experts say they picked this word because it reflects “the shared experience of billions of people who have had to restrict their daily lives in order to contain the virus”.

The use of the word has also been on the rise.

Lexicographers (people who work on dictionaries) found over 250,000 usages of “lockdown” during 2020, up from just 4,000 last year.

Other words that have seen an increase in usage include and made it into the Top 10 included; coronavirus, social distancing, key worker and self-isolate.

Some words – not related to coronavirus – also made it onto the list. This includes TikToker, Mukbang (a video or stream where someone eats a large amount of food for viewers’ entertainment) and the abbreviation BLM (Black Lives Matter).

It’s the first time that TikToker has made it into the dictionary!

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