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Dictionary Word Search Puzzles

New Entries for Years 2000–2022

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detective with magnifying glass   eight-by-four grid of letters with WORD and SEARCH highlighted, with Kilroy looking downward   detective with magnifying glass

Each year major dictionaries like the Oxford English Dictionary add new words and phrases to their existing list of entries. This is because the English language is constantly evolving. If you open a dictionary from 1960 you won't find entries for Internet or Email — words like that only started to appear in dictionaries about two decades later.

Here's what we did: We looked through dictionaries published between 2000–2022 to see what was added. We then selected the most interesting ones — over ten thousand — and used them to make 500+ word search puzzles. These are the puzzles you'll find on these two pages.

The puzzles are organized by the first year the search terms appeared in dictionaries. Each puzzle hides 18 search terms in a full-page 22×20 letter grid. An additional 2 unlisted search terms are also hidden in the grid. The solutions are provided.

The puzzles are printer-friendly. As long as your device can open PDF files and your printer is loaded with standard 8.5" × 11" paper, you are all set to start solving. Good luck!

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