Justice remains elusive for many in the United States, but not on Merriam-Webster’s website. Today (December 17), the reference book publisher named it the Word of the Year for 2018.

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‘Justice’ was looked up 74% more in 2018 than in 2017, with spikes tied to events throughout the year.
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rnttHere’s more on our #WordOfTheYear pick: https://t.co/yuWRZMvbaP

rnt— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) December 17, 2018

rnt"The concept of justice was at the center of many of our national debates in the past year: racial justice, social justice, criminal justice, economic justice," Merriam-Webster’s announcement reads. “In any conversation about these topics, the question of just what exactly we mean when we use the term justice is relevant, and part of the discussion."

Editor-at-Large Peter Sokolowski told The Associated Press that Word of the Year candidates must sustain a high level of traffic and annual increases in searches. In 2018, users looked up justice 74 percent more often than the previous year. The announcement adds that the word’s prevalence increased with several high-profile stories surrounding the Department of Justice and Brett Kavanaugh‘s Supreme Court confirmation process.

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