Esports and Permadeath Are Now in the Dictionary

A handful of gaming-specific words have been added in the latest update to the dictionary, including the increasingly popular term "esports."

Dictionary.com has announced its latest wave of additions, which is comprised of "more than a thousand new and modified definitions." Many of these are related to technology, such as haptics, smartwatch, form factor, and blackhat.

As for gaming, there are at least three new words: esports, completionist, and permadeath. Permadeath has become an increasingly common term in recent years thanks to the wave of roguelikes (hey, there's one for next time) that have been released. Esports are increasingly gaining mainstream attention, as best evidenced by a Heroes of the Storm tournament airing on ESPN 2--much to the chagrin of at least one employee.

Keep in mind, this is the online dictionary, which is much more inclined to add new words than the dictionary you'd find in a library.

A blog post briefly explains how new words are added, and how its ultimate goal "is to help people gain a deeper understanding of language," something it can only do by routinely adding new words.