Dictionary.com picks 'pandemic' as its 2020 word of the year

By LEANNE ITALIE Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Dictionary.com on Monday declared "pandemic" its 2020 word of the year.

Senior research editor John Kelly tells The Associated Press that lookups for the word pandemic spiked more than 13,500 percent on March 11 when compared to 2019.

That's the day the World Health Organization declared the health emergency over the novel coronavirus a global pandemic.

Kelly said that month over month throughout the year, the site experienced lookup spikes of more than 1,000 percent higher than 2019 for the word.

Dictionary.com's chief executive officer, Jennifer Steeves-Kiss, calls pandemic the through line for 2020.

Copyright 2020 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.