Quarantine named Word of the Year 2020

Quarantine has been named Word of the Year 2020 by Cambridge Dictionary. The word defeated other words like 'lockdown' and 'pandemic' to take the top crown.

Quarantine was chosen as the Word of the Year 2020 after data showed it to be the most searched word on the Cambridge Dictionary. It was the only word to rank in the top five for both search spikes (28,545) and overall views, more than 183,000 by early November. 

The word showed the largest spike in searches in March 18-24 week, when many countries had announced lockdown in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Key Highlights 

•The editors of Cambridge Dictionary tracked how people are using the word quarantine and discovered a new meaning, which states a general period of time in which people are not allowed to leave their homes or travel freely so that they do not catch or spread disease.

•Research also shows quarantine word being used synonymously with lockdown, especially in the United States, to refer to a situation wherein people stay home to avoid catching the disease.

•This new meaning of quarantine has now been added to the Cambridge Dictionary. The new definition marks a shift from the existing meanings, which stated containing a person/animal suspected of being contagious or a specific time period in which a person/ animal that has a disease, must be kept away from others in order to prevent the spread of the disease.

Cambridge Dictionary

Cambridge Dictionary is the top dictionary website for English learning. The dictionary not only shows how words are used in real-world contexts but also gives out their definitions.