After tallying thousands of responses, Dictionary.com has revealed five words which made it to their Word of the Year list.
Scroll down to find out which words made it to the list.
1. Pandemic
Definition: (noun) a disease prevalent throughout an entire country, continent, or the whole world.
'Pandemic' was the official selection for Word of the Year.
'The task of choosing a single word to sum up 2020 -- a year roiled by a public health crisis, an economic downturn, racial injustice, climate disaster, political division, and rampant disinformation -- was a challenging and humbling one,' wrote Dictionary.com, explaining their choice of word.
'But at the same time, our choice was overwhelmingly clear.
'From our perspective as documenters of the English language, one word kept running through the profound and manifold ways our lives have been upended -- and our language so rapidly transformed -- in this unprecedented year.'
'That word is pandemic, our 2020 Word of the Year.'
2. Unprecedented
Definition: (adjective) without previous instance; never before known or experienced; unexampled or unparalleled.
The people's choice 2020 word of the year was 'unprecedented'.
According to the Dictionary.com Web site, this is also a word people may not want to hear or see in the coming year.
'The word exploded in frequency and usage this year -- so much so that it became cliched,' Dictionary.com revealed.
'And this overfamiliarity, if not overuse, has prompted the popular sentiment that we should send the word into retirement.'
3. Lockdown
Definition: (noun) a security measure taken during an emergency to prevent people from leaving or entering a building or other location.
The third word of 2020 is (obviously) lockdown.
This word reflected the prominence of public health measures in 2020.
It was also one of the most overused words this year.
4. Chaos
Definition: (noun) a state of utter confusion or disorder; a total lack of organisation or order.
This word pretty much sums up 2020, doesn't it?
Its earliest recorded meaning in English is 'an immeasurable and formless void, infinite darkness.'
5. Quarantine
Definition: (noun) a strict isolation imposed to prevent the spread of disease.
Rounding up the top five words of 2020 is 'quarantine'.
'A technical term it has become essential in our everyday vocabulary,' said Dictionary.com.
