Merriam-Webster Declares “Underwater” a Word

Obviously, “underwater” has meant submerged for a long time. Now, however, it officially means a house upon which more is owed than can be procured for it on the open market. That’s right: Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary has made the housing crisis official with the introduction of “underwater” as also meaning “having, relating to, or being a mortgage loan for which more is owed than the property securing the loan is worth”[1].

Underwater was not the only new real-estate related word that the dictionary added in 2012. They also added “man cave,” meaning “a room or space (as in a basement) designed according to the taste of the man of the house to be used as his personal area for hobbies and leisure activities.”

What real estate words do you think should be in the dictionary?

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