At least it is according to Oxford Dicitonaries, who decided that it was more important than the other words that were seeing a big increase in usage this past year, including 'bae' and 'normcore'.
After much consultation with their word-talking-speaky-guys (we're writers for a living), Oxford have decided that the word of the year for 2014 is 'vape', the inhalation and exhalation of the vapour produced by an e-cigarette.
In an announcement today on their website, they said that according to their research, use of the word had doubled since 2013, which is why it was able to be a cut above the competition for the coveted title.
The competition came in the form of other words that have seen a big increase in usage in the last year, including 'bae' (a term of endearment for one's romantic partner), 'normcore' (ordinary, unfashionable clothing worn as a deliberate fashion statement), 'budtender' (the person who sells cannabis to customers in one of the newly legalised shops), 'slacktivism' (actions performed via the Internet in support of a political or social cause but regarded as requiring little time or involvement), 'indyref' (the Scottish independence referendum) and 'contactless' (Relating to or involving technologies that allow a smart card, mobile phone, etc. to contact wirelessly to an electronic reader).
Judy Pearsall, Editorial Director for Oxford Dictionaries, explained why vape was better than all of those though, saying: "As vaping has gone mainstream, with celebrities from Lindsay Lohan to Barry Manilow giving it a go, and with growing public debate on the public dangers and the need for regulation , so the language usage of the word 'vape' and related terms in 2014 has shown a marked increase."
However, they aren't the only dictionary maker who declare a Word of the Year, and just a few weeks ago, Collins said that 'photobomb' was their word of choice, along with a shortlist of other entries that were in contention. We'll be deep in the cold, cold ground before we recognise devo max, though.
