Collins English Dictionary has declared the verb 'binge-watch' as its Word of the Year for 2015.
According to Collins, the word means 'to watch a large number of television programs (especially all the shows from one series) in succession.' The word was chosen by the Lexicographers from the same company after the verb has increased in terms of usage by a whopping 200 percent last 2014. The word was initially used in the '90s to describe watching an entire DVD of TV series, and has now became more popular because of the changes of how people could watch their favorite programs.
The Head of Language Content at Collins, Helen Newstead said the rise of subscription services such as Netflix and the innovations such as Tivo make watching TV series more convenient and accessible to people all over the world. Newstead added that after watching their favorite shows, people converse on what they had watched on social media.
Based on an article by The Guardian, Collins also reported the survey done by Tivo, which revealed 92 percent of viewers binge-watch at least 3 episodes of their favorite TV show in one day.
The noun 'transgender' follows binge-watch as the word that has increased its usage the most since last year. The word is defined as 'of or relating to a person whose gender identity does not fully correspond to the sex assigned to them at birth.' Its usage has increased by up to 100 percent, and this has been attributed to the presence of trans actors and characters in TV programs and social media.
Here are the other words that made it to Collins Dictionary's Words of the Year list:
dadbod (noun): an untoned and slightly plump male physique, especially one considered attractive
ghosting (noun): ending a relationship by ignoring all communication from the other person
manspreading (noun): the act or an instance of a male passenger in a bus or train splaying his legs in a way that denies space to the passenger sitting next to him
shaming (noun): attempting to embarrass a person or group by drawing attention to their perceived offence, especially on social media
swipe (verb): to move a finger across a touchscreen on a mobile phone in order to approve (swipe right) or dismiss (swipe left) an image
