‘Vax’ selected as Oxford English Dictionary’s 2021 Word of the Year

After analyzing 14.5 billion words used in daily news coverage in 2021, Oxford Languages’ lexicographers have chosen “vax” as word of the year.

The reason: “Vax” was used 72 times as much as it was in 2020. Vax is used as a short form for vaccines and means a substance put into a person’s body to prevent them from getting a disease.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, words related to vaccines saw a surge in 2021, including terms like double-vaxxed, unvaxxed, and anti-vaxxer.