( CNN ) -- Sorry , folks . Merriam-Webster 's word of the year is not `` selfie . '' And twerk is nowhere on the list , either . Unlike the lads and ladies over at Oxford , Merriam-Webster has declared `` science '' its 2013 word of the year . Its number 2 word is cognitive . Oxford 's buzzworthy choice of `` selfie '' last month was a result of the word 's growing usage and digital fame . But its U.S. counterpart picked `` science '' primarily based on numbers on its website . It looked at the most searched-for words on its online dictionary , Merriam-Webster.com , and also those that showed the biggest increase in the number of look-ups . The word with the largest spike ? Science . A 176 % increase in look-ups , to be exact . `` A wide variety of discussions centered on science this year , from climate change to educational policy , '' the dictionary editors said in a statement . `` We saw heated debates about 'phony ' science , or whether science held all the answers . It 's a topic that has great significance for us . '' Merriam-Webster has a history of not getting too carried away by Internet memes . Last year , Oxford American Dictionaries US pick for word of the year was `` GIF '' -- as in a compressed file format for images . What did Merriam-Webster go with ? Socialism and capitalism .
Merriam - Webster chose ` ` photo '' primarily based on searches on its website . The word had the largest share in look - ups , it says . Oxford 's buzzworthy choice of ` ` selfie '' was a result of its digital presence .