QUIZ: Can you guess the Cambridge words of the year based on their dictionary definitions?

The Cambridge Dictionary has revealed its word of the year for 2021 (Shutterstock)The Cambridge Dictionary has revealed its word of the year for 2021 (Shutterstock)
The Cambridge Dictionary has revealed its word of the year for 2021 (Shutterstock)

The Cambridge Dictionary has revealed its word of the year for 2021, but can you guess what these words of the year were based on their dictionary definitions?

Look-ups for the 2021 word of the year spiked after the NASA mission to Mars in February and more than 30,000 individual searches were made for its definition as interest spiked in the interplanetary expedition.

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Back here on Earth, the word has been looked up on the Cambridge Dictionary website more than 243,000 times during 2021.

Wendalyn Nichols, Cambridge Dictionary publishing manager, said it "made sense" that look-ups for the word spiked after the descent of Nasa's Mars Rover.

"We often see spikes in look-ups of words associated with current events when those words are less familiar," she said.

Indeed, a look back through other recent ‘word of the year' entries will instantly transport many readers back in time and invoke memories of major news events gone by.

Can you guess what the words of the year are based on their dictionary definitions in our quiz?

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