Cambridge Dictionary has announced “manifest” as its Word of the Year for 2024.
According to its website, the word “manifest” was searched nearly 130,000 times, making it one of the most viewed terms of the year.
“In 2024, the word manifest transitioned from being primarily used in the self-help community and on social media to being widely referenced across mainstream media,” the dictionary stated.
Cambridge Dictionary defines “manifest” as “to use methods such as visualization and affirmation to help you imagine achieving something you want, in the belief that doing so will make it more likely to happen.”
The Word of the Year is chosen based on three key criteria: user data, cultural relevance (zeitgeist), and linguistic significance.
“Manifest was selected this year because it saw a notable increase in lookups, its usage expanded significantly across various media platforms, and it illustrates how the meanings of a word can evolve over time,” explained Wendalyn Nichols, Publishing Manager of Cambridge Dictionary.
