Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English DictionaryFlickr/EMDOT

"Manspreading" - when a man sits with his legs wide apart on public transport encroaching on other seats - is among 1,000 new words that were officially added to the online Oxford dictionary, OxfordDictionaries.com, on 27 August.

It sits alongside other new entries such as "hangry" (bad-tempered or irritable as a result of hunger) and "pocket dial" (inadvertently calling someone on a mobile phone in one's pocket, as a result of pressure being accidentally applied to a button or buttons on the phone).

Other additions to the online dictionary include "Grexit" and "Brexit" (a term for the potential withdrawal of Greece or the UK from the eurozone); "awesome sauce" (extremely good; excellent); "weak sauce" (something that is of a poor or disappointing standard or quality:) and "bruh" (a male friend).

Abbreviations have also made it in to the dictionary, which includes NBD (short for no big deal), bants (short for banter) and mkay (non-standard spelling/informal pronunciation of OK). The free online dictionary also included phrases such as "beer and wine o'clock" (an appropriate time of day for starting to drink beer or wine) and "brain fart" (a temporary mental lapse or failure to reason correctly).

Oxford Dictionaries adds new words and phrases to the website, which reveals current trends in modern language, on a quarterly basis. This is in contrast to the Oxford English Dictionary, which requires proof of continued historical use.

Fiona McPherson, senior editor of Oxford Dictionaries, said the addition of slang words and abbreviations did not mean the English language was being dumbed down. "There's always been new slang words. I just think we are more aware of them because of the ways in which we consume and live our lives now," she said.

"We are bombarded with more and more avenues where those sort of words are used and we just think that there are more of them. I don't necessarily think that's the case. From my point of view as a lexicographer, it's not really about dumbing down, it's more creative ways that people are using language."