SAT Prep — Vocabulary — Merriam-Webster's 2008 Word of the Year

Merriam-Webster selects their annual "Word of the Year" according to the intensity of look-ups on their website. In other words, it's a kind of online popularity contest, or perhaps a curiosity contest. The winner is often a word mentioned in the news which a lot of normal people don't understand but wish they did. This year, true to form, the word of the year was:

bailout (n) - a rescue from financial distress

With news of recession, depression, and government bailouts, it seems natural that the word bailout would rise to the top.

Here is the Merriam-Webster's top ten list:

1. bailout
2. vet
3. socialism
4. maverick
5. bipartisan
6. trepidation
7. precipice
8. rogue
9. misogyny
10. turmoil

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