TL;DR – It’s officially in the dictionary.
‘Fake news’ has been announced as the Collins Word of the Year 2017.
Defined as false, often sensational, information disseminated under the guise of news reporting, or Donald Trump’s favourite phrase, it will be added to the next print edition of Collins Dictionary.
Other words that made the list include,
- Antifa (noun: (1) a antifascist organization (2) a member of a antifascist organization adjective: (3) involving, belonging to, or relating to a antifascist organisation)
- Corbynmania (noun: fervent enthusiasm for Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the UK Labour Party)
- Cuffing season (noun: the period of autumn and winter, when single people are considered likely to seek settled relationships rather than engage in casual affairs)
- Echo chamber (noun: an environment, especially on a social media site, in which any statement of opinion is likely to be greeted with approval because it will only be read or heard by people who hold similar views)
- Fidget spinner (noun: a small toy comprising two or three prongs arranged around a central bearing, designed to be spun by the fingers as means of improving concentration or relieving stress)
- Gender-fluid (adjective: not identifying exclusively with one gender rather than another)
- Gig economy (noun: an economy in which there are few permanent employees and most jobs are assigned to temporary or freelance workers)
- Insta (adjective: of or relating to the photo-sharing application Instagram)
- Unicorn (noun: (1) an imaginary creature depicted as a white horse with one long spiralled horn growing from its forehead, regarded as symbol of innocence and purity (2) a recently launched business enterprise that is valued at more than one billion dollars )