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What is the origin of selfie?
The first-known appearance of selfie in written form occurred in 2002 on an Australian news website, but the word didn't see much use until 2012. By November 2013, selfie was appearing frequently enough in print and electronic media that Oxford Dictionaries (publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary as well as other dictionaries) chose the word as its Word of the Year. This announcement itself led to a significant increase in the use of the word by news organizations, an increase that was further boosted following the December 2013 memorial service for Nelson Mandela, at which American President Barack Obama was caught taking a selfie with Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and British Prime Minister David Cameron. The word selfie, with its suggestions of self-centeredness and self-involvement, was particularly popular with critics who saw this moment as a reflection of the President's character.
Examples of selfie in a Sentence
Mackenzie Schmidt, PEOPLE, 13 May 2026
On Tuesday, there was the usual tourist selfie scrum under the statues of Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George, prime ministers who stewarded their country through successive wars and in doing so became giants of history and politics.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 12 May 2026
The shops themselves are often designed to look great in a selfie.
—Anne Kadet, Curbed, 12 May 2026
From there, the last leg was an exercise in selfies and group photos in an attempt to capture what the trip had meant to us through visual mementos.
—Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 11 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for selfie
Cite this Entry
“Selfie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/selfie. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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