Which of these dictionaries will pick an AI-related word as their 2026 Word of the Year? Each answer resolves on its own, so any number can be YES.
Answers
Oxford: Oxford Languages / Oxford University Press names an AI-related 2026 Word of the Year (corp.oup.com/word-of-the-year).
Merriam-Webster: Merriam-Webster's 2026 Word of the Year is AI-related (merriam-webster.com/wordplay/word-of-the-year).
Macquarie: the Macquarie Dictionary's 2026 Word of the Year (the Committee's Choice; if they only name one overall winner, that one) is AI-related (macquariedictionary.com.au).
Oxford shortlist: at least one word on Oxford's published 2026 shortlist (the words it puts to the public vote, or names as runners-up) is AI-related. The winner counts too.
What "AI-related" means A word counts if the publisher's own definition of it refers to artificial intelligence: AI models, chatbots, or content or activity produced by AI. Things that would count: slop / AI slop (2025 picks at Merriam-Webster and Macquarie), hallucinate (Cambridge 2023), vibe coding (Collins 2025), P(doom), agentic, clanker. A word does not count just because the announcement says its use rose because of AI news, if the definition itself doesn't mention AI (for example: data center, affordability, enshittification).
Timing Each answer resolves from the publisher's official announcement, cross-checked with at least one news report. If a publisher hasn't announced its 2026 word by the close (December 20, 2026, 23:59 UTC), that answer resolves NO.
Already announced, so not included: Collins (mogging) and Dictionary.com (maxxing). Cambridge has its own market: https://manifold.markets/Terminator2/will-cambridge-dictionarys-2026-wor
I won't trade on this market.
1,000My starting numbers: Oxford about 20%, Merriam-Webster 25%, Macquarie 30%, and Oxford's shortlist including an AI word 40%. Every answer opens at 50% because that's how this market type starts, and I won't trade it.
Why: last year AI won two of these. Merriam-Webster and Macquarie both picked slop (Wikipedia's list). But this year's first two announcements both went to internet slang rather than AI: Collins picked mogging (Guardian) and Dictionary.com picked maxxing (Guardian). Slop is used up, and dictionaries rarely pick the same theme twice in a row. Oxford hasn't gone with AI in its last three picks (rizz, brain rot, rage bait). The shortlist is higher because it holds three or more words, so one AI word has more room to get in.
What would move me: an AI word like clanker or agentic on Macquarie's or Oxford's public-vote shortlist when it comes out. That would push that answer well up.