‘F-bomb,’ ‘sexting,’ ‘man cave’ added to Merriam-Webster dictionary

Last year it was "tweet."

This year, "F-bomb," "sexting" and "man cave" are among the newest terms that were added to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, published Tuesday.

"We saw another huge spike after Dick Cheney dropped an F-bomb in the Senate in 2004," Kory Stamper, an associate editor for Merriam-Webster, told The Associated Press. "It's a word that is very visually evocative. It's not just the F-word. It's F-bomb. You know that it's going to cause a lot of consternation and possible damage."

"Brain cramp," "bucket list," "energy drink," "life coach" and "aha moment" are also among the additions to the 114-year-old dictionary.

There are plenty of user-submitted terms with slang origins ("roid rage," "A-game," "birther") included in Merriam-Webster's Open Dictionary online. But Merriam-Webster adds only about 100 new terms to its annual print edition. In 2011, "tweet," "bromance" and "cougar" were among them.

Merriam-Webster also selects a word of the day (today's: "bloviate") in addition to its word of the year. In 2011, it was "pragmatic."

It's worth noting that "F-bomb" is not included in the competing New Oxford American Dictionary, though Oxford University Press is considering its inclusion in an upcoming edition.

Also worth noting: "F-bomb" has been included in the Urban Dictionary since 2003.