Oxford names 'vape' 2014 Word of the Year

The Oxford Dictionaries named "vape" 2014's Word of the Year.

Oxford defines the verb as "to inhale and exhale the vapour produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device." It was added to the dictionary in August. Vape can also be used as a noun for the e-cigarette and for the act of inhaling itself.

"You are thirty times more likely to come across the word vape than you were two years ago, and usage has more than doubled in the past year," Oxford explained on the OxfordWords blog announcing the decision.

Runners-up included:

Bae: n. used as a term of endearment for one's romantic partner.

Budtender: n. a person whose job is to serve customers in a cannabis dispensary or shop.

Contactless: adj. relating to or involving technologies that allow a smart card, mobile phone, etc., to contact wirelessly to an electronic reader, typically in order to make a payment.

Indyref: n. an abbreviation of "independence referendum," in reference to the referendum held in Scotland on Sept. 18, in which voters were asked to answer yes or no to the question "Should Scotland be an independent country?" Voters answered: No.

Normcore: n. a trend in which ordinary, unfashionable clothing is worn as a deliberate fashion statement.

Slacktivism: n., informal actions performed via the Internet in support of a political or social cause but regarded as requiring little time or involvement, e.g. signing an online petition or joining a campaign group on a social media website; a blend of slacker and activism.

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