The word Brexit has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the BBC reports.
It defines Brexit as “the (proposed) withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, and the political process associated with it”.
It continues: “Sometimes used specifically with reference to the referendum held in the UK on 23rd June 2016, in which a majority of voters favoured withdrawal from the EU.”
The OED’s senior editor said it became widely used with “impressive” speed.
Craig Leyland said economists started using the word in May 2012, influenced by “Grexit”, which has also been added to the OED, and was used to describe the potential withdrawal of Greece from the Eurozone monetary union.
