The results of the 2024 US presidential election rattled the country and sent shockwaves across the world — or were cause for celebration, depending on who you ask. Is it any surprise then that the Merriam-Webster word of the year is 'polarization?'

'Polarization means division, but it's a very specific kind of division,' said Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster's editor at large, in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press ahead of Monday's announcement. 'Polarization means that we are tending toward the extremes rather than toward the center.'