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'Lockdown' is Collins Dictionary Word of the Year

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Callum Paton, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/reuters/11/10/matt.jpg"/><figcaption>Photo by Matt Seymour on Unsplash</figcaption></figure></div><p>LONDON, United Kingdom - Collins Dictionary said on Tuesday that &quot;lockdown&quot; is its Word of The Year in 2020 following a dramatic increase in usage during the spread of COVID-19. </p><p>Lexicographers said they picked the word because it had become synonymous with the experience of populations across the world as governments look to curb the coronavirus pandemic. </p><p>&quot;It is a unifying experience for billions of people across the world, who have had collectively to play their part in combating the spread of COVID-19,&quot; publishers Harper Collins said.</p><p>Collins registered more than a quarter of a million usages of &quot;lockdown&quot; during 2020, against only 4,000 the previous year.</p><p>Because of the way the pandemic has affected the daily use of language, six of Collins&#x27; 10 words of the year in 2020 are related to the global health crisis. </p><p>&quot;Coronavirus&quot;, &quot;social distancing&quot;, &quot;self-isolate&quot; and &quot;furlough&quot; as well as &quot;lockdown&quot; and &quot;key worker&quot; were included in the longer list of 10 words of the year. </p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d4A0yoYP4rs?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>&quot;Key worker&quot; alone has seen a 60-fold increase in usage reflecting the importance attributed this year to professions considered to be essential to society. </p><p>&quot;2020 has been dominated by the global pandemic,&quot; Helen Newstead, a language consultant at Collins, said. </p><p>&quot;Lockdown has affected the way we work, study, shop, and socialize. </p><p>&quot;With many countries entering a second lockdown, it is not a word of the year to celebrate but it is, perhaps, one that sums up the year for most of the world.&quot; </p><p>Collins defines &quot;lockdown&quot; as &quot;the imposition of stringent restrictions on travel, social interaction, and access to public spaces&quot;. </p><p>According to the dictionary, coronavirus is: &quot;Any one of a group of RNA-containing viruses that can cause infectious illnesses of the respiratory tract, including COVID-19.&quot; </p><p>Significant social and political developments beyond the virus have also been reflected in the list, which has already made its way into online editions of the English dictionary. </p><p>A wave of Black Lives Matter protests, sparked by the death in US police custody of unarmed black man George Floyd, spread around the world and brought a new awareness of the movement. </p><p>The abbreviation &quot;BLM&quot;, often used as a hashtag on social media, was widely used in conversations and reporting following the protests, registering an increase in usage of 581 percent by Collins. </p><p>Social media regularly throws up new words for the dictionary.</p><p>This year, Collins has included &quot;TikToker&quot;, which describes someone who shares content on the TikTok social media platform. </p><p>&quot;Mukbang&quot;, which refers to a South Korean trend of video bloggers eating large quantities of food in videos broadcast to their followers, has also made the list. </p><p>The UK royal family influenced the shortlist in 2020. </p><p>&quot;Megxit&quot;, which refers to the withdrawal of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan from royal duties, passed into regular usage. </p><p>The word, modelled on &quot;Brexit&quot;, which was Collins&#x27; word of the year in 2016, illustrates just how firmly established that word now is in the British lexicon.</p><div><strong>csp/phz/cdw</strong></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UzfJFtLQDc0?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>LONDON, United Kingdom - Collins Dictionary said on Tuesday that "lockdown" is its Word of The Year in 2020 following a dramatic increase in usage during the spread of COVID-19. </p>

LONDON, United Kingdom - Collins Dictionary said on Tuesday that "lockdown" is its Word of The Year in 2020 following a dramatic increase in usage during the spread of COVID-19.

'Lockdown' is Collins Dictionary Word of the Year

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'Lockdown' is Collins Dictionary Word of the Year

Callum Paton,

Agence France-Presse

Published Nov 10, 2020 11:07 AM PHT

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