Kory Stamper

Kory Stamper is a lexicographer and former associate editor for the Merriam-Webster family of dictionaries. She is the author of Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries (Pantheon, 2017) and True Color: The Strange and Spectacular Quest to Define Color – From Azure to Zinc Pink (Penguin Random House, 2026).

Early life Stamper grew up in Colorado. She was associate editor at Merriam-Webster for more than ten years. As of 2019, Stamper worked freelance with Cambridge University Press. As of December 2023, she was senior editor of lexicography at Dictionary.com, where she worked until April 2024.

In addition to her editorial duties, she presented many of Merriam-Webster's "Ask the Editor" videos, a series on the publisher's website and YouTube that discusses the English language, especially unusual or controversial words and usages. She undertook speaking engagements on behalf of Merriam-Webster and provides expert advice and response to general enquiries on language and lexicography from the public. Stamper drew attention as the associate editor responsible for explaining the addition of the term "F-bomb" into the dictionary. and has written on other, non-language-related topics. Stamper's first book, Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries, was released by Pantheon in March 2017.

Stamper appears in all six episodes of the 2021 Netflix series History of Swear Words, providing commentary on the linguistic histories of various obscenities. The Hollywood Reporter described Stamper as "probably the breakout among the expert talking heads".

Stamper's second book, True Color: The Strange and Spectacular Quest to Define Color – From Azure to Zinc Pink, was released by Penguin Random House in March 2026.

Personal life Stamper is married with two children. She lives in Collingswood, New Jersey.

Works

Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries, Pantheon, 2017. True Color: The Strange and Spectacular Quest to Define Color – From Azure to Zinc Pink, Penguin Random House 2026.