thumb|upright=1.5|A [[word cloud of buzzwords related to big data]]

A buzzword is a word or phrase, new or already existing, that becomes popular for a period of time. Buzzwords often derive from technical terms yet often have much of the original technical meaning removed through fashionable use, being simply used to impress others. Some buzzwords retain their true technical meaning when used in the correct contexts; for example, artificial intelligence or big data.

Buzzwords often originate in jargon, acronyms, or neologisms. Examples of overworked business buzzwords include synergy, vertical, dynamic, cyber and strategy.

It has been stated that businesses could not operate without buzzwords, as they are the shorthands or internal shortcuts that make perfect sense to people informed of the context. However, a useful buzzword can become co-opted into general popular speech and lose its usefulness. According to management professor Robert Kreitner, "Buzzwords are the literary equivalent of Gresham's law. They will drive out good ideas."

Buzzwords, or buzz-phrases such as "all on the same page", can also be seen in business as a way to make people feel like there is a mutual understanding. As most workplaces use a specialized jargon, which could be argued is another form of buzzwords, it allows quicker communication. Indeed, many new hires feel more like "part of the team" the quicker they learn the buzzwords of their new workplace. Buzzwords permeate people's working lives so much that many do not realize that they are using them. The vice president of CSC Index, Rich DeVane, notes that buzzwords describe not only a trend, but also what can be considered a "ticket of entry" with regard to being considered as a successful organization – "What people find tiresome is each consulting firm's attempt to put a different spin on it. That's what gives bad information."

Buzzwords also feature prominently in politics, where they can result in a process which "privileges rhetoric over reality, producing policies that are 'operationalized' first and only 'conceptualized' at a later date". The resulting political speech is known for "eschewing reasoned debate (as characterized by the use of evidence and structured argument), instead employing language exclusively for the purposes of control and manipulation".

Definition

The Concise Oxford English Dictionary defines a buzzword (hyphenating the term as buzz-word) as a slogan, or as a fashionable piece of jargon: a chic, fashionable, voguish, trendy word a la mode.

It has been asserted that buzzwords do not simply appear, they are created by a group of people working within a business as a means to generate hype. Buzzwords are most closely associated with management and have become the vocabulary that is known as "management speak": Using a pompous or magisterial term, of or relating to a particular subject employed to impress those outside of the field of expertise.

It could also be called buzz phrase or loaded word.

Forbes hosts an annual "Jargon Madness" game, in which 32 of "corporate America's most insufferable expressions" are played off against each other in a bracketed, basketball-style tournament to determine the buzzword of the year.

LinkedIn publishes an annual list of buzzwords to avoid in creating résumés (British English: CVs) – "trite, empty words that may sound good to your ear but say almost nothing". The 2014 list: motivated, passionate, creative, driven, extensive experience, responsible, strategic, track record, organizational, and expert.

When people are approaching a meeting where they expect the presenters to use many buzzwords, they may prepare a game of buzzword bingo, where players score points each time a particular buzzword is used.

Patch Products has published a board game called Buzzword.

The "Weird Al" Yankovic album Mandatory Fun contains the song "Mission Statement", which is full of what he describes as the "ridiculous double-speak and meaningless buzzwords" in office environments.

See also

References

Sources

Further reading

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