Vocabulary

When you look at the Words of the Day we published in September, what patterns do you see? Can you find pairs of words that are related in meaning, or that commonly appear together? Can you find pairs of words that have absolutely nothing…

The motor cortex is a brain region known to control the body's voluntary movements. However, the team of neuroscientists have now shown that it can also help translating foreign language words into one's native language. Their study has…

Another lens through which to look at language? The Times’s Upshot team used data analysis to create the interactive “The Words Men and Women Use When They Write About Love,” pictured above. It mines the language of four years of Modern…

Over the past eight years of our Vocabulary Video Contest, students have produced thousands of lively, original videos in which they define a Word of the Day in under 15 seconds.Sixty of the winning videos, organized into three compilations…

One of my former students, Michelle Kirchner, is a Ph.D. student in entomology and biology at North Carolina State University. Her specialty is ants.Whether 70 feet up in a tree or digging a hole to find them, Michelle learns about ants by…

In your comment, do your best to document your process of learning this word. This could include guessing the word’s definition incorrectly (or correctly!), making a personal connection to the word, or offering a compelling explanation for…

3. Work alone, with a partner or in a group.4. Only one submission per student.If you submit as part of a group, you cannot enter separately as an individual.5. Your video should be no more than 15 seconds, but it can be shorter.Please…

As Linux marks 30 years of influencing developers, software engineers and the entire tech industry, now is a good time to speak the language. Happy 30th birthday…

Children aged 6 to 12 years were taught new words before doing one of three things— swimming, taking part in CrossFit exercises or completing a coloring sheet.‘Exercise can increase levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor that helps in…

Swimming a few laps likely won't turn your child into the next Katie Ledecky or Michael Phelps, but it just might help them become the next J.K. Rowling or Stephen King. A recent study by University of Delaware researchers suggests exercise…