The OED’s Most Searched Words by Country

The Oxford English Dictionary website is one of my most visited websites, I use it for inspiration and to check the veracity of our Word of the Day posts and for those moments when I just cannot grasp that one word that is sitting there itching the back of my mind and yet refusing to come forward and make itself available to me. Come to think of it, that’s happening more and more often recently, that’s not good is it?

The OED is much more than just a dictionary though, it is a Thesaurus, an encyclopaedia, a reference, a grammar checker and a time stealer. If you have a look around the site, there are so many things they cover other than word definitions and one of those things is lists. Now I love a good list and one of my favourite lists on the OED website is their Most Searched Words by country; updated weekly, each list consists of the top ten words of eight countries and then a list of the most searched words overall. The differences between countries is fascinating and the words that appear in each top ten often give an interesting insight into what is going on in each country at that time.

Here we have replicated one week’s list courtesy of OED to give you a snapshot of what each nation’s population searches for; read, ponder and enjoy.

United Kingdom

Most popular in the UK

Travesty  – A false, absurd, or distorted representation of something.
Discombobulate – Disconcert or confuse (someone).
Practice – The actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method, as opposed to theories relating to it.
Centre – The point that is equally distant from every point on the circumference of a circle or sphere.
Racism – Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.
Supersede – Take the place of (a person or thing previously in authority or use); supplant.
Practise – Perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to acquire, improve or maintain proficiency in it.
Feminism – The advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.
Disinterested – Not influenced by considerations of personal advantage.
Harmony – The combination of simultaneously sounded musical notes to produce a pleasing effect.

United States of America

Most popular in the US

Tronc – (In a hotel or restaurant) a common fund into which tips and service charges are paid for distribution to the staff.
Chyron – An electronically generated caption superimposed on a television or movie screen.
Mic drop – An instance of deliberately dropping or tossing aside one’s microphone at the end of a performance or speech one considers to have been particularly impressive.
Harambee – (In East Africa) an event held to raise funds for a charitable purpose.
Cwm – A cirque, especially one in the mountains of Wales.
Semivowel – A speech sound intermediate between a vowel and a consonant, e.g., w or y.
Polemologist – A student of or expert in polemology.
Gender – The state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones).
People-oriented – Skilled at or focused on interaction with people.
Balayage – A technique for highlighting the hair in which the dye is painted on in such a way as to create a graduated, natural-looking effect.

Australia

Most popular in Australia

Guy – Informal A man.
Australia – An island country and continent of the southern hemisphere, in the SW Pacific, a member state of the Commonwealth.
Racism – Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.
Gender – The state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones).
Bespoke – (Of goods, especially clothing) made to order.
Ethics – Moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or the conducting of an activity.
Practice – The actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method, as opposed to theories relating to it.
Pax – British informal, dated A call for a truce, used especially by schoolchildren when playing.
Empathy – The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
Meme – An element of a culture or system of behaviour passed from one individual to another by imitation or other non-genetic means.

Canada

Most popular in Canada

Chyron – An electronically generated caption superimposed on a television or movie screen.
Mic drop – An instance of deliberately dropping or tossing aside one’s microphone at the end of a performance or speech one considers to have been particularly impressive.
Cwm – A cirque, especially one in the mountains of Wales.
Demagogue – A political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument.
Semivowel – A speech sound intermediate between a vowel and a consonant, e.g., w or y.
Catcall – A shrill whistle or shout of disapproval made at a public meeting or performance.
Endeavour – Try hard to do or achieve something.
Focus – The centre of interest or activity.
Gender – The state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones).
Tronc – (In a hotel or restaurant) a common fund into which tips and service charges are paid for distribution to the staff.

India

Most popular in India

Remustering – The action of mustering something again; ( R.A.F. slang ) the action or process of assigning or being assigned to a different category of duties.
India – A country in southern Asia occupying the greater part of the Indian subcontinent.
Word – A single distinct meaningful element of speech or writing, used with others (or sometimes alone) to form a sentence and typically shown with a space on either side when written or printed.
LOL – Laughing out loud; laugh out loud (used chiefly in electronic communication to draw attention to a joke or amusing statement, or to express amusement).
Insane – In a state of mind which prevents normal perception, behaviour, or social interaction; seriously mentally ill.
Dude – A man; a guy (often as a form of address).
Spouse –  A husband or wife, considered in relation to their partner.
Prepone – Bring (something) forward to an earlier date or time.
Hijra – (In South Asia) a person whose birth sex is male but who identifies as female or as neither male nor female.
Designation – The action of choosing someone to hold an office or post.

Malaysia

Most popular in Malaysia

Lepak – (Especially of a young person) spend one’s time aimlessly loitering or loafing around.
Hail – Pellets of frozen rain which fall in showers from cumulonimbus clouds.
Malay – A member of a people inhabiting Malaysia and Indonesia.
Mic drop – An instance of deliberately dropping or tossing aside one’s microphone at the end of a performance or speech one considers to have been particularly impressive.
Liaise – Cooperate on a matter of mutual concern.
Cute – Attractive in a pretty or endearing way.
Translate – Express the sense of (words or text) in another language.
Pax – British informal, dated A call for a truce, used especially by schoolchildren when playing.
Silo – A tall tower or pit on a farm used to store grain.
People-oriented – Skilled at or focused on interaction with people.

Pakistan

Most popular in Pakistan

Teeter – Move or balance unsteadily; sway back and forth.
Sentence – A set of words that is complete in itself, typically containing a subject and predicate, conveying a statement, question, exclamation, or command, and consisting of a main clause and sometimes one or more subordinate clauses.
Zakat – Payment made annually under Islamic law on certain kinds of property and used for charitable and religious purposes, one of the Five Pillars of Islam.
Karela – Indian name for bitter melon.
Etiquette – The customary code of polite behaviour in society or among members of a particular profession or group.
OK – Used to express agreement or acceptance.
Jamun – A large evergreen Asian tree of the myrtle family, which yields edible fruit, tanbark, and fuelwood.
Set-up – The way in which something, especially an organization or equipment, is organized, planned, or arranged.
Shaitan – (In Muslim countries) the Devil or an evil spirit.
W.E.F. – Abbreviation; With effect from.

Spain

Most popular in Spain

Traductor – A movable arm, fixed to the side of a railway carriage, by means of which mailbags can be picked up or deposited while the train is in motion.
Work – Activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a result.
Transcripción fonética – No Definition found.
Outlander – A foreigner or a stranger.
Cool – Of or at a fairly low temperature.
Take – Lay hold of (something) with one’s hands; reach for and hold.
Lite – Denoting a low-fat or low-sugar version of a manufactured food or drink product.
Do –  Perform (an action, the precise nature of which is often unspecified).
Definition – A statement of the exact meaning of a word, especially in a dictionary.
Spot advertising – Television advertising occupying a short break during or between programmes.

World-wide

Most  popular globally

Tronc – (In a hotel or restaurant) a common fund into which tips and service charges are paid for distribution to the staff.
Chyron – An electronically generated caption superimposed on a television or movie screen.
Cambridge – A city in eastern England, the county town of Cambridgeshire. Cambridge University is located there.
Racism – Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.
Practice – Perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to acquire, improve or maintain proficiency in it.
Word  – A single distinct meaningful element of speech or writing, used with others (or sometimes alone) to form a sentence and typically shown with a space on either side when written or printed.
Cwm – A cirque, especially one in the mountains of Wales.
Catcall – A shrill whistle or shout of disapproval made at a public meeting or performance.
Traductor – A movable arm, fixed to the side of a railway carriage, by means of which mailbags can be picked up or deposited while the train is in motion.
India – A country in southern Asia occupying the greater part of the Indian subcontinent.

I don’t know about you but I found that fascinating, the repeated words that are most often searched across countries and the differences too. Language is a wonderful thing indeed.

Sourced from Oxford Dictionaries