Merriam-Webster selected the word after conducting a statistical analysis of search traffic for words in its online dictionary. Searches for “pandemic” first increased Jan. 20, the date the first positive COVID-19 case was confirmed in the U.S.
Dictionary lookups for the word spiked 1,621 percent year over year on Feb. 3, the day the nation’s first COVID-19 patient was released from Everett, Wash.-based Providence Regional Medical Center, according to U.S. News & World Report.
The biggest spike was March 11, when the World Health Organization officials declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. Searches jumped 115,806 percent compared to the same day in 2019.
Other heavily searched words for 2020 include coronavirus, quarantine and asymptomatic, according to Merriam-Webster. To view the full list, click here.
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