'Unfriend' is New Oxford American word of the yearThe New Oxford American Dictionary The New Oxford American Dictionary (NOAD) is a single-volume dictionary of North American English by the American editors at the Oxford University Press. The latest second edition contains some 250,000 entries and definitions. named "unfriend" -- as in deleting someone as a friend on a social network such as Facebook -- its word of the year on Monday. Oxford University Press USA, in a blog post, said "unfriend," a verb, had bested netbook, sexting, paywall, birther and death panel for the honor. "Unfriend has real lex-appeal," said Christine Lindberg, senior lexicographer A person who writes dictionaries. See computer lexicographer. for Oxford?s US dictionary program. "It has both currency and potential longevity," she said. "In the online social networking See social networking site. social networking - social network context, its meaning is understood, so its adoption as a modern verb form makes this an interesting choice for word of the year." Previous words of the year include carbon neutral, locavore and hypermiling. Locavores are people who eat locally grown food while hypermilers modify their cars and driving techniques to maximize gas mileage. 
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