In their latest release of new words to be added, MacGyver has finally made the cut and been added to the Oxford Dictionary as a verb meaning "making or repairing (an object) in an improvised or inventive way".

For years it has been claimed that MacGyver was a verb found in "all major dictionaries", however anyone who has ever tried to find it will tell you it just isn't so. Until now the word hasn't been in any of the major dictionaries, including online ones, yet in spite of this the claim has continued to be made.

The dictionary lists the word as being a US Informal verb and shows it's origin as being from "the lead character in the television series MacGyver (1985–1992), who often made or repaired objects in an improvised way."

FINALLY!

He always belonged there.

Love it! A great milestone.

I'm so happy to see that this happened. I wonder who got it added.

Back when MacGyver was discussed only via email (and I remember those days....) we talked about getting "MacGyverISM" added to the dictionary.... not sure if that was added or not...

I don't believe it ever got added to any official dictionary's.

From what I understand dictionary's add (or drop) words based on their usage in modern language. They have teams of people monitoring the various types of publications for this purpose. So it was just time for it to be added.

Here's how Merriam-Webster decide on words.


Interestingly MacGyver still only appears in the Oxford Dictionary. No other dictionary has it listed.

Awesome!!