“Lockdown” has been named as the word of the year 2020 by Collins Dictionary, The Guardian reported.

Collins stated that there has been a 6,000% increase in the usage of the word lockdown in 2020, with a quarter of a million instances of the word recorded versus 4,000 instances in 2019.

“Language is a reflection of the world around us and 2020 has been dominated by the global pandemic,” said Collins language content consultant Helen Newstead. “We have chosen lockdown as our word of the year because it encapsulates the shared experience of billions of people who have had to restrict their daily lives in order to contain the virus. Lockdown has affected the way we work, study, shop, and socialize. With many countries entering a second lockdown, it is not a word of the year to celebrate but it is, perhaps, one that sums up the year for most of the world.”

Other pandemic-related words made it to Collins’ top ten list as well, including coronavirus, self-isolate and social distancing.

And what non-pandemic word was in the top ten? The abbreviation BLM, for Black Lives Matter, had a 581% increase in usage in 2020.

In 2019, Collins’ word of the year was “climate strike;’ in 2018 it was “single-use;” in 2017, it was “fake news;” and in 2016 it was “Brexit.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)