<p>The use of "they" to describe someone who does not identify as male or female gained ground on Tuesday, when U.S. dictionary Merriam-Webster picked it as the word of 2019.</p>.<p>Merriam-Webster said searches for that use of the word, which was added to its dictionary in September, had increased by more than 300% this year as more and more people identify as nonbinary - neither a man nor a woman.</p>.<p>The Oxford English Dictionary and Dictionary.com both published articles online in 2018 saying the singular "they" was grammatically correct and had been used since at least the late 14th century.</p>.<p>"More recently, though, they has also been used to refer to one person whose gender identity is nonbinary," Merriam-Webster said on its website.</p>.<p>"There's no doubt that its use is established in the English language, which is why it was added to the Merriam-Webster.com dictionary this past September."</p>.<p>The shift comes as increasing numbers of people elect to use a gender-neutral pronoun to describe themselves, often stating that preference on social media accounts and in the workplace.</p>.<p>Singer Sam Smith came out as non-binary in September and asked to be referred to by "they" and "them".</p>
<p>The use of "they" to describe someone who does not identify as male or female gained ground on Tuesday, when U.S. dictionary Merriam-Webster picked it as the word of 2019.</p>.<p>Merriam-Webster said searches for that use of the word, which was added to its dictionary in September, had increased by more than 300% this year as more and more people identify as nonbinary - neither a man nor a woman.</p>.<p>The Oxford English Dictionary and Dictionary.com both published articles online in 2018 saying the singular "they" was grammatically correct and had been used since at least the late 14th century.</p>.<p>"More recently, though, they has also been used to refer to one person whose gender identity is nonbinary," Merriam-Webster said on its website.</p>.<p>"There's no doubt that its use is established in the English language, which is why it was added to the Merriam-Webster.com dictionary this past September."</p>.<p>The shift comes as increasing numbers of people elect to use a gender-neutral pronoun to describe themselves, often stating that preference on social media accounts and in the workplace.</p>.<p>Singer Sam Smith came out as non-binary in September and asked to be referred to by "they" and "them".</p>