NEW YORK -- Here's a list Top 15 words and definitions added to the latest edition of the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary:

  • Auto-Tune or auto-tune vt (verb transitive) (2003): a proprietary signal processor, to adjust or alter (a recording of a voice) with Auto-Tune software or other audio-editing software, especially to correct sung notes that are out of tune
     
  • Cap-and-trade adj (1995): relating to or being a system that caps the amount of carbon emissions a given company may produce but allows it to buy rights to produce additional emissions from a company that does not use the equivalent amount of its own allowance
     
  • Catfish n (1612): (second definition) a person who sets up a false personal profile on a social networking site for fraudulent or deceptive purposes
     
  • Crowdfunding n (2006): the practice of soliciting financial contributions from a large number of people, especially from the online community
     
  • Dubstep n (2002): a type of electronic dance music having prominent bass lines and syncopated drum patterns
     
  • Fangirl n (1934): a girl or woman who is an extremely or overly enthusiastic fan of someone or something
     
  • Freegan n (2006): an activist who scavenges for free food (as in waste receptacles at stores and restaurants) as a means of reducing consumption of resources
     
  • Gamification n (2010): the process of adding games or gameline elements to something (as a task) so as to encourage participation
     
  • Hashtag n (2008): a word or phrase preceded by the symbol # that classifies or categorizes the accompanying text, such as a tweet
     
  • Selfie n (2002): an image of oneself taken by oneself using a digital camera, especially for posting on social networks
     
  • Social networking n (1998): the creation and maintenance of personal and business relationships, especially online
     
  • Steampunk n (1987) science fiction dealing with 19th-century societies dominated by historical or imagined steam-powered technology
     
  • Turducken n (1982): a boneless chicken stuffed into a boneless duck stuffed into a boneless turkey
     
  • Tweep n (2008): a person who uses the Twitter online message service to send and receive tweets
     
  • Yooper n (1977): a native or resident of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan -- used as a nickname