Five new words for 2026

As the world changes, so does our language.

Through cultural shifts, social phenomena and new technologies - new words have developed and been added to the dictionary.

BBC Bitesize speaks to Cambridge Dictionary lexicographer Colin McIntosh about the words that have been recently added to the Cambridge Dictionary. Here are some of our favourites…

Screenless technology

This term is used to describe a type of technology where images are projected without the use of a screen, mainly by reflecting light off an object which is not a screen or projecting the image directly onto the eye's retina.

Used in a sentence:

Screenless video is a futuristic concept that can direct images into a space, onto the viewer's eyes, or even into the brain.

Barefoot shoe

This term refers to a type of shoe that is designed to feel as close as possible to the experience of walking or running without shoes. For example, a thin, completely flat sole, no or almost no support for the foot, and space for the toes to spread.

Used in a sentence:

All sorts of benefits are claimed for barefoot shoes, such as better posture, reduced foot pain, and a more natural gait.

Wardrobing

This word refers to the practice of buying a piece of clothing, wearing it, and then returning it in order to get your money back.

Used in a sentence:

He said that return fraud, which includes wardrobing, producing fake receipts, and other practices, cost retailers billions of dollars last year.

Script kiddie

This means someone who tries to get into other people's computer systems without permission in order to find out information or to do something illegal. What sets them apart from hackers is that script kiddies do not have the skills and so use programs and code written by other people.

Used in a sentence:

Even a script kiddie can wreak havoc on the internet.

Dubai chocolate

This is a type of chocolate bar filled with chopped filo pastry and a pistachio and tahini cream, also popular as an ice cream flavour.

Used in a sentence:

Have you tried the new Dubai chocolate ice-cream?

How new words are added to the dictionary?

Colin says "to decide which terms to include, we track words that are being looked up frequently online for which we don’t have an entry".

"The team monitors media channels and publications representing a range of subjects and a mix of formal or informal language, to keep on top of emerging terms and meanings."

In regards to slang or informal language, Colin says "the way that it enters the language remains the same as it always has – it starts with a small user group, often a closed social or professional group, and spreads through the media, often propelled by youth culture. What’s different now is the speed at which words spread due to social media platforms".

"Our lexicographers might track a term for a few years before deciding it’s time to add it to the Dictionary, or on rare occasions, the process can happen very fast; it took just 37 days from the date that Covid-19 was identified for it to have an entry in the Cambridge Dictionary."

Criteria for monitoring new words:

• Watch to see if a term remains current, and if it does, whether that currency remains only within a niche group of users.

• If the term leaves its niche and becomes widely used across a range of media.

• When a word is new, media articles that refer to it tend to put it in quotation marks and explain what it means; when it becomes more widely recognised, it loses the quotation marks.

• If a word is being used in combination with other words to create new expressions, this is an indication that it has a core meaning that users recognise and are already using creatively.

Do words ever leave the dictionary when they become too archaic?

Colin says "in the past, most general-purpose dictionaries had to clear out old words in order to make space for new words and avoid becoming too bulky".

"Nowadays, the Cambridge Dictionary is online and we don’t need to worry about space. Older words are there just in case anyone needs to look them up – we just give them a label to show they’re old-fashioned."

This article was published in January 2026