The Cambridge Dictionary has revealed its word of the year for 2021 is ‘perseverance’ – with editors crediting global interest in Nasa’s mission to Mars.
Look-ups for the word spiked after the Perseverance Rover made its final descent to the red planet on February 18, with 30,487 searches for ‘perseverance’ between February 19 and February 25 this year.
The Cambridge Dictionary has searched for it more than 243,000 global times during 2021.
The Cambridge Dictionary has revealed its word of the year for 2021 is ‘perseverance’ – with editors crediting global interest in Nasa’s mission to Mars (stock image)
Perseverance is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as ‘continued effort to do or achieve something, even when this is difficult or takes a long time’.
Wendalyn Nichols, Cambridge Dictionary publishing manager, said it ‘made sense’ look-ups for the word spiked after the descent of Nasa’s Mars Rover.
“She stated that editors considered it appropriate, considering the 2021 challenges.
‘Just as it takes perseverance to land a rover on Mars, it takes perseverance to face the challenges and disruption to our lives from Covid-19, climate disasters, political instability and conflict.
We appreciated that connection and we think Cambridge Dictionary users do, too.’
She added: ‘Cambridge Dictionary is the top website in the world for learners of English, and perseverance is not a common word for students of English to have in their vocabulary.
‘We often see spikes in look-ups of words associated with current events when those words are less familiar.’
In January of this year, searches on Cambridge Dictionary’s website spiked for ‘insurrection’, ‘impeachment’, ‘inauguration’ and ‘acquit’, as the US presidential election had the world’s attention.
The editors stated that this further proves the fact that words in Cambridge Dictionary are frequently current.