Collins English Dictionary, an authoritative British dictionary of English, called the main word of 2020 “lockdown” – a regime of isolation, which was introduced in a number of countries because of the coronavirus situation.

Specialists have chosen this word because such an experience “has united billions of people around the world”. They counted more than 250 thousand cases of using the word “lockdown” in 2020, compared to four thousand a year earlier.

According to the dictionary definition, “lockdown” is a noun that means “the imposition of severe restrictions on travel, interaction in society and access to public places”.

In 2019 the dictionary called the word of the year the expression “climate strike”, which refers to a phenomenon that has become popular, including through the actions of Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg.