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Could you sum 2020 up in one word?

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) couldn't, so it has expanded its usual 'Word Of The Year' to include lots of words.

The "Words of an Unprecedented Year" reflect the things people have been talking about in 2020.

Lots of the words on the list are to do with the coronavirus pandemic, as you would expect, but there are also some to do with political changes and the environment.

Words of the year

To decide which words made the report, the Oxford Language team studied the themes that were most significant in 2020 and how language changed with it.

They put 2020's language or word usage into three different categories.

The Language of Covid-19, Technology and remote learning and Social movements and social media and politics.

Some of the words included in the report are; bushfires, Covid-19, lockdown, circuit-breaker, moonshot and Black Lives Matter.

Casper Grathwohl, the president of Oxford Dictionaries, said: "I've never witnessed a year in language like the one we've just had. The Oxford team was identifying hundreds of significant new words and usages as the year unfolded, dozens of which would have been a slam dunk for Word of the Year at any other time.

"It's both unprecedented and a little ironic - in a year that left us speechless, 2020 has been filled with new words unlike any other."

The language of Covid-19

The report showed that use of the word pandemic had gone up more than 57,000% this year!

The word coronavirus has been around since the 1960s but until April this year, it was only really used by medical professionals and scientists.

The report done by Oxford Languages, showed that by May 2020 the word coronavirus was being used a lot more than Covid-19.

It also showed how words and phrases like circuit-breaker, lockdown, support bubbles or pods, face masks, PPE, medics, key workers, front-liners, or essential workers, were all being used a lot more from March 2020.

As masks and face-coverings were being debated and decisions were being made on who should wear them, the use of the words grew too.

According to the report, mask up, anti-mask, anti-masker and mask-shaming were "among the proliferation of words reflecting attitudes towards the issue of mask-wearing".

Technology and remote learning

Remote learning - or learning at home! A phrase known to anyone in the UK of school age.

The report said that the use of the words remote and remotely has gone up 300%.

Mute and un-mute have also been used a lot more this year than before, according to the report because of people using video chats to have meetings.

Social movements, social media and politics

This year hasn't been all coronavirus and lockdown, Tiktoker made the cut as more and more people used the social media platform to keep entertained.

The Black Lives Matter movement had a huge impact all over the world and on language.

Even though the phrase Black Lives Matter existed before the death of George Floyd, since he died the phrase has been used more and more.

There has also been a lot happening in politics.

In October, the use of the word as mail-in, relating to US voting, was up 3,000% compared with 2019 and the use of the Brexit has gone down 80% this year!

What word or phrase would you use to sum up 2020? Let us know in the comments!