The acronym NFT (short for Non-Fungible Token) was named word of the year by the Collins Dictionary. Its use in speech increased by over 11,000% in 2021.

The widespread use of the abbreviation seemed "unusual" to English linguists, said Alex Beecroft from Collins Dictionary.

"Whether the NFT will have a lasting influence is yet to be determined, but its sudden presence in conversations around the world makes it very clearly our word of the year," he said to BBC.

NFT made the word list of the year in the technology section. In addition to NFT, it included the words "crypto" (short form of the word cryptocurrency) and the metaverse.

The Collins Dictionary's List of the Year also includes:

Climate anxiety - reflecting the growing concern of people about climate change and the perceived lack of action to address it.

Neopronoun - words that serve as pronouns, but, unlike "he" or "she", have no gender.

Cheugy - a slang term used to describe and reject anything that is considered hopelessly uncool or unfashionable.

In 2020, “isolation” was named the word of the year.