AI Terms Including “Vibe Coding” Added to Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Summary

Merriam-Webster has added 1,400 entries to its online dictionary, including the AI and computing terms “agentic”, AGI, “compute” as a noun, natural language processing, prompt engineering and “vibe coding”. The additions were announced in September and reflect the growing use of technical vocabulary outside specialist communities. Merriam-Webster lexicographer Peter Sokolowski says new words must appear repeatedly in mainstream media before they are considered, after which specialist definers examine their technical usage and write explanations for a general audience. He argues that terms such as “vibe coding” require readers to understand concepts such as programming, showing how much technical knowledge has entered everyday communication. Cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky says the expansion is consistent with the way scientific and technological innovation drives language change. She compares the current pace of change with, and possibly beyond, that of the Industrial Revolution, noting that increasingly complex societies need compact terms for complex ideas. The article presents the dictionary additions as evidence of AI vocabulary becoming established in public language, rather than as a report about a new AI system or model.