Cambridge Dictionary reveals its 2024 word of the year

The Cambridge Dictionary has named "Manifest" its word of the year for 2024.

The term, first popularised by celebrities such as singer Dua Lipa, has taken over the mainstream media and pop culture landscapes and has become a common word among many people worldwide.

Manifesting or to manifest is the practice of using "methods such as visualisation and affirmation to help you imagine achieving something you want, in the belief that doing so will make it more likely to happen."

According to the British dictionary, it started being used in the 20^th century as a way "to make something happen by internalising it, intentionally or unintentionally."

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It has since become a word used by the general public on a daily basis and has been searched nearly 130,000 times on the dictionary's website.

"In 2024, the word manifest jumped from being mainly used in the self-help community and on social media to being mentioned widely across mainstream media," it wrote.

"The use of this sense of manifest has gained in popularity with the increasing number of 'manifesting influencers' promoting this scientifically unproven practice on social media—so much so that it was added to the Cambridge Dictionary in May of 2023."

Cambridge Dictionary's publishing manager, Wendalyn Nichols, said that the word of the year is chosen based on "user data, zeitgeist and language."

"Manifest won this year because it increased notably in lookups, its use widened greatly across all types of media, and it shows how the meanings of a word can change over time," said Nichols.

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Singer Dua Lipa, who is known for her devotion to manifesting, explained what manifestation means to her in an April interview.

"If you set an intention and you think about it every single day of your life, and for me, Glastonbury, for example, when I first started making music, I dreamed about the day that I would get asked to headline Glastonbury," she said.

"And I've probably thought about it every single session that I'm in the studio because when I write a song, I think I go, 'oh what's this going to sound like at Glastonbury?'"

She added that she believed manifestation has played a huge part in her success.

Here are a few words other guessed could've been the 2024 word of the year. 

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