In August 2025 there was quite a stir online and in news programs about the new words that the Cambridge Dictionary had added to its publication. Eyebrows were raised at the inclusion of skibidi, dululu, and tradwife (among others). These imposters from social media had some commentators bemoaning the imminent death of the English language.
The event raised the question: what is the purpose of a dictionary? The answer isn’t as easy as you might think. There are two broad answers you will generally find: a dictionary is either prescriptive or descriptive. In other words, it either tells you what words are correct and how they should be used (prescriptive) or it tells you how words are being used at the moment or at the time of writing (descriptive).
Most lexicographers would agree that the purpose of a dictionary is to describe and record how words are used. And this is what the new Cambridge dictionary is doing—capturing how the language is used at a specific moment in time.
New words added to the Cambridge Dictionary exampleSkibidi
a word that can have different meanings such as “cool” or “bad”, or can be used with no realmeaning as a joke:
From the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus
TipIf you want even more information about the meanings or usage of any of these new words, use QuillBot’s AI search to quickly get answers.
Flowers that start with “Z” are few and far between, but one of them—the zinnia—is extremely common in gardens and floral arrangements. The list below includes other flowers that start with the letter “Z.”
Flowers that start with Z examplesThere are hundreds of different zinnia varieties, including queen lime and purple prince.
Zenobia is a shrub with small, bell-shaped flowers.
Tip“Zinnia” might seem tricky to spell, but QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you write it correctly.
There are a few flowers that start with “Y,” including yarrow, yellow bells, yellow poppy, and yucca flower. The list below includes these and more.
Flowers that start with Y examplesYarrow is helpful for bees and butterflies, but it does quickly spread.
Unlike other poppy varieties, yellow poppy only grows on seashores.
TipEach US state has an official flower. For example, yellow jessamine is the state flower of South Carolina. If you’re curious what the other state flowers are, ask QuillBot’s free AI Chat.
Several flowers have Latin names (aka botanical names) that start with “X.” The flowers that start with “X” include Xerohyllum tenax (bear grass) and Xerochrysum (strawflower). A few (but not many) flowers include the letter “X,” such as phlox, foxglove, and flax.
Flowers that start with X examplesYou can find the spikey white flowers of Xerohyllum tenaxin wooded areas of the Pacific Northwest.
Xyrus complanata is a yellow flower with three petals that’s native to the Philippines, New Guinea, and Australia.
TipLatin flower names are very difficult to pronounce, but QuillBot’s AI Chat can answer questions like “how do you pronounce Xerochrysum?” The letter “X” usually has a “Z” sound when it’s the first letter of a word like “Xanadu.”
Flowers that start with “W” include wallflower, water lily, weigela, and wisteria. Other flowers that begin with “W” are listed below.
Flowers that start with W examplesThe trumpet-shaped blooms of the weigela shrub provide nectar for hummingbirds.
Most of Monet’s paintings of water lilies are in a museum in Paris.
The waratah flower is the state emblem of New South Wales in Australia.
TipIf you’re curious about how to pronounce a flower name that you haven’t seen before, such as “weigela” (WEE-gee-luh), ask QuillBot’s free AI Chat. It can answer all kinds of questions about flowers.
You’ll find a variety of the flowers that start with “V” in backyard gardens, including viola, veronica, vinca, and verbena. Other flowers that start with “V” are listed below.
Flowers that start with V examplesThe petals of wild violets are edible, and you can infuse them into simple syrups.
Veronica plants are perennial, so they come back every year.
TipIf flower names like “valerian” or “velvet trumpet flower” pique your interest, ask QuillBot’s AI Chat to share details about how they grow, where they come from, or what they look like.
There are only a few flowers that start with “U,” but they’re all unique. They include umbrella plant, urn orchid, and utricle bladderwort.
Flowers that start with U examplesAn urn plant, which is also called a bromeliad, has spiky pink blooms.
The utricle bladderwort is aquatic and carnivorous, so it grows in water and eats insects.
Ursinia is a daisy-like plant that grows in South Africa.
TipUrn plants (aka bromeliads) are common houseplants, but it’s very unusual for them to bloom. If you’re lucky enough to see one of these unique blossoms in real life, why not share it on Instagram? With QuillBot’s caption generator for Instagram, you can create clever captions in just a few seconds.
Flowers that start with “T” include tulip, thistle, tansy, tiger lily, trillium, and tuberose. The lists below include a variety of common flower names and Latin flower names that start with the letter “T.”
Flowers that start with T examplesSeveral of Van Gogh’s paintings include teddy bear sunflowers, which have many tiny petals that look like fur.
I’ve always dreamed of visiting the tulip fields in the Netherlands.
Trilliums have three petals, which is why this flower name includes the prefix “tri-.”
TipFlower names like “thistle” can be tricky to spell, but the QuillBot Grammar Checker will help you get them right.
