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{{for|the popular word processor made by Microsoft|Microsoft Word}}

'''A word''' is something spoken by the [[mouth]] that is meaningful. It is usually part of a [[sentence]] which makes the meaning clear.

Words are also used in [[writing]], which is a relatively modern invention. In [[alphabet]]ic writing, a word is a collection of [[letter]]s. The word then communicates a meaning that can also usually be pronounced. A [[logogram]] is also a word.

Some words have more than one [[meaning]]; for example, 'spring' can refer to the season, the [[Spring (device)|device]], or a [[conjugation]] of the verb. They are [[homonym]]s. Some words have different [[pronunciation]]; for example, 'wind' (the noun) and 'wind' (the verb) are pronounced differently. 

Some words have different [[spelling]]; for example, 'color' and 'colour' are both correct. ‘Color' is used in [[American English]], and ‘colour' is used in [[British English]]. Some words can be only one letter such as "a" and "I" in [[English language|English]]. Besides English, all other [[language]]s have their own words. When written with an alphabet, words are usually separated by a space. When written with [[ideogram|ideograms]], each word is usually a separate symbol.

Words can be invented, which are then called [[neologism|neologisms]]. For example, [[radar]] was originally an [[acronym]] but became an actual word. Two words may be joined to make a [[compound word]].
== Fuller definition ==
A word is the smallest thing that can be said ''with meaning''. For example, ''[[hello]]'' is a word.

That contrasts with a [[morpheme]], which is the smallest unit of meaning but may not stand on its own. A word may consist of a single morpheme (such as ''oh!, rock, red, quick, run, expect''), or several (''rocks, redness, quickly, running, unexpected''), and a morpheme may not be able to stand on its own as a word (in the words just given, they are ''-s, -ness, -ly, -ing, un-, -ed'').

The meaning of words can be found in a [[dictionary]].

== Word Media ==
<gallery widths='160px' heights='100%' mode='traditional' caption=''>
File:NZs-longest-place-name.jpg|Sign of a [[New Zealand]] hill with an unusually long one-word name: [[Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu|{{shy|Taumata|whakatangihanga|koauau|o|tamatea|turi|pukaka|piki|maunga|horo|nuku|pokai|whenua|ki|tana|tahu}}]] (85 [[Character (symbol)|characters]])

File:Happy Valentines Day.jpg|Words made out of letters, divided by spaces

File:Independently morphology tree.png|A morphology tree of the English word "independently"
</gallery>
== Related pages ==
* [[Lexeme]]
* [[Parts of speech]]
* [[Heteronym]] — when two different words have the same spelling
== More reading ==
* {{cite book |last1=Iggulden |first1=Hal |last2=Iggulden |first2=Conn |title=The Dangerous Book for Boys |date=2007 |publisher=HarperCollins |location=New York |isbn=978-0061243585 |pages=214–216 |chapter=The Origin of Words}}




[[Category:Words| ]]
[[Category:Basic English 850 words]]


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