Converstations With One of Merriam-Webster's Associate Editors

General Note to Merriam-Webster

2006-04-13T11:05:00.000-07:00

To whom it may concern,

I've read up on how a word comes to find its way in your Dictionary, however I was unable to find where I can go to make a submission. Please let me know what my next move is.

Thank you,

Ray

Merriam-Webster Responds

2006-04-13T11:04:00.000-07:00

Dear Ray:

Thanks for your e-mail. If you've found a new word or meaning used in a published source, you can submit the example to us for inclusion in our evidence files. If you have come across such an example and would like to receive our citation submission guidelines, please let us know.

If you are looking for the Open Dictionary, however, you can visit www3.merriam-webster.com/opendictionary/

I hope this is helpful. Thanks for taking the time to write,

Kory Stamper, Associate Editor
Merriam-Webster, Inc.

Follow-Up with Kory

2006-04-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

Kory,

I wanted to thank you for getting back to me so quickly; I appreciate you taking the time. I imagine in the future I will have a couple of follow-up questions for you, but for now the information on your website will suffice. I would however like to receive the citation submission guidelines for when I find information worth sharing.

Thanks again,

Ray

Response from Kory

2006-04-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

Dear Ray:

We have a page on our premium Web site, www.Merriam-WebsterUnabridged.com, where users can submit citations to us. You can use the Day Pass promotion to gain 24-hours of free access to MWU after viewing an ad; click on the "Free premium access" box on our home page, and once you are on the site, click on the "Submit a Word" link directly below our logo. I would encourage this route as the citation is automatically formatted per our particular citational style. Anything you sent me would have to be reformatted and typed in again.

Below you will find the very extensive FAQ from MWU about what we need for our citations. The foremost requirement is that the source material be edited, printed, and published (on paper, not electronically). There are a number of other things we need, but you can read the FAQ to find the rest of the information.

Thanks for your interest in Merriam-Webster.

Cordially,
Kory Stamper, Associate Editor
Merriam-Webster, Inc.