( CNN ) -- The linguists have spoken and they have decided -- `` Occupy '' is 2011 's word of the year . Members of the American Dialect Society came out in record numbers to vote Friday night at the organization 's annual conference , held this year in Portland , Oregon . `` Occupy '' won a runoff vote by a whopping majority , earning more votes than `` FOMO '' ( an acronym for `` Fear of Missing Out , '' describing anxiety over being inundated by the information on social media ) and `` the 99 % , '' ( those held to be at a financial or political disadvantage to the top moneymakers , the one-percenters ) . Occupy joins previous year 's winners , `` app , '' `` tweet , '' and `` bailout . '' `` It 's a very old word , but over the course of just a few months it took on another life and moved in new and unexpected directions , thanks to a national and global movement , '' Ben Zimmer , chair of the New Words Committee for the American Dialect Society , said in a statement . The Occupy Wall Street movement began in September in Lower Manhattan , before spreading to communities around the country and the world as a call to action against unequal distribution of wealth and other issues . Founded in 1889 , the American Dialect Society is made up of `` academics , linguists , anyone involved in the specialization of language , '' according to Grant Barrett , the society 's vice president . Barrett , who also co-hosts `` A Way with Words , '' a public radio program about language , said the annual conference provides an opportunity for linguistics professionals and graduate students to share information and research . But Barrett says the word of the year vote , now in its 22nd year is , `` light-hearted and whimsical . '' Nominations for the word of the year are submitted by society members in attendance at the annual conference , but can also be submitted by the community at large . `` Occupy '' may have taken top honors , but several other words and phrases received recognition . `` Mellencamp , '' a woman who has aged out of being a `` cougar '' ( after John Cougar Mellencamp ) , and `` kardash , '' a unit of measurement consisting of 72 days , after the short-lived marriage of Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries , were both recognized in the `` Most Creative '' category . Barrett said many of the nominated words that have significance now likely wo n't stand the test of time . For instance , `` Tebowing '' and `` 9-9-9 '' were quite popular in 2011 , but Barrett doubts they 'll last very long . Some words are just outright unnecessary -- like Charlie Sheen 's `` bi-winning , '' a term he used to describe himself pridefully , dismissing accusations of being bipolar , and `` amazeballs , '' a slang form of amazing . In the most outrageous category , `` deather '' -- one who doubts the official story of the killing of Osama bin Laden -- was recognized . While all in good fun and a chance for `` good-natured intelligent people to let their hair down , '' Barrett hopes the word of the year vote conveys two important messages to even the purist of linguists : `` Language change is normal . Language change is interesting . ''
The word occupy `` took on another life '' in 2011 , American Dialect Society member says . Members of the society voted at the organization 's annual conference . Comment: