Urban Dictionary: Not Your Gramp’s Lexicon

December 12th, 2008 in News, by Head Honcho

Normally, you look up words that you don’t know in the ever-dependable Oxford or Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Clueless about what poignant means? Easy. Want to know the definition of mendacity? No problem.

But what if you encounter something like this in an internet forum: ROFL! John pwns noobs like Eric on a regular basis, IMAO. John FTW!

Statements like this can make anyone feel puzzled. More often than not, these indecipherable words cannot be found even in the latest edition of your standard dictionary.

Enter Urban Dictionary.

Urban Dictionary is a web-based dictionary of slang words, phrases, and names. But the special thing about this website is that anyone can participate in the word-creation and definition process - an example of crowdsourcing at work. Any Tom, Dick and Harry can contribute a word and its corresponding definition to the website. The visitors of the site can also participate by rating any word and definition submitted - clicking a thumbs up sign when it is appropriate and a thumbs down site when it is not. Submissions are also regulated by volunteer editors if the content submitted is deemed unacceptable.

Urban Dictionary already has more than three hundred thousand definitions collected. The words found in the site has even gained mainstream acceptance from traditional media. Needless to say, the site’s success cannot be doubted. In fact, Urban Dictionary has already spawned printed books, compiling the most popular terms generated in its website.

Here is a review of the Urban Dictionary website: