Dictionary selects ‘climate strike’ as 2019’s Word of the Year

Collins Dictionary on Thursday named “climate strike” its Word of the Year for 2019 following months of protests and a surge of activism to address climate change.

The dictionary defines the term as “a form of protest in which people absent themselves from education or work in order to join demonstrations demanding action to counter climate change.”

In naming the term its Word of the Year, Collins wrote on its website that it was first used in November 2015 when a protest was held outside the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.

The form of protest “took off just over one year ago” with the voice of teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg and has since “grown to become a worldwide movement,” the company added.

The dictionary says there was a 100-fold increase in the term’s usage in 2019, compared to last year.

Other words on Collins’s Word of the Year shortlist include “nonbinary,” which it defines as “relating to a gender or sexual identity that does not conform to the binary categories of male or female, heterosexual or homosexual.” 

It also includes “BoPo,” short for “body positive,” and “influencer,” which describes people who use social media to promote products and lifestyle choices to their followers.

“Deepfake” also made the shortlist, coming after lawmakers have looked to urge social media companies to take down deepfake videos, which are based on artificial intelligence and create fake audio and video that is convincing enough to be perceived as real.