‘The ick’ and ‘boop’ latest words added to Cambridge Dictionary

Gaming terminology has also been incorporated into the latest edition, such as “speedrun” – completing a game or level quickly – and “side quest”, an ancillary activity within a game.

Colin McIntosh, Cambridge Dictionary’s programme manager, said: “These gaming-inspired words have also begun to influence how we talk about our offline lives.”

For instance, “side quest” can be used to mean one’s attention being diverted by something unimportant, or someone disappearing from a larger group on a night out.

At the end of last year, Cambridge Dictionary announced that “hallucinate” was its word of the year, as it had gained a new meaning since the development of artificial intelligence.

While the traditional definition is “to seem to see, hear, feel, or smell something that does not exist”, it now includes “when an artificial intelligence (AI) hallucinates, it produces false information”.

The latest additions to the English dictionary follow in the footsteps of other terminology coined in the modern age, including “selfie” and “babyccino”.

Meanwhile, “rizz” was named as word of the year by Oxford University Press in 2023.

The Gen Z slang for “style, charm or attractiveness” or “the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner” won out over other contenders, such as “Swiftie” – an enthusiastic fan of Taylor Swift – and “situationship”, an informal romantic or sexual relationship.

Additional reporting by Brian Farmer, BBC News, Cambridgeshire