'Perseverance’ named Cambridge Dictionary’s word of the year
Cambridge Dictionary’s word of the year for 2021 has been revealed as “perseverance”.
The word was inspired by Nasa’s mission to Mars, as data showed that users across the globe searched for the word online more than 243,000 times throughout the year.
The dictionary found there was a surge in searches for the meaning of “perseverance” between 18 and 24 February, after Nasa’s Perseverance Rover landed on Mars.
"Perseverance” is defined in the Cambridge Dictionary as a “continued effort to do or achieve something, even when this is difficult or takes a long time”.
The word is “almost always a positive word that expresses our admiration for people who keep going in difficult situations”, wrote the editors.
They added that people had shown the meaning of the word “in the face of challenges and disruption to our lives from Covid-19 and other problems”.