16 Indian Words That Just Made It To The Oxford Dictionary

    Of course, Aadhaar made it in.

    Lakshmi Menon
    by Lakshmi Menon

    Community Contributor

    Last year, the Oxford Dictionary added around 70 Indian words to its vocabulary and some of the additions have been... interesting. Here are some of the words that made their way in.

    1. Jugaad

    youtube.com

    Definition: "A flexible approach to problem-solving that uses limited resources in an innovative way."

    2. Bhelpuri

    Bugking88 / Getty Images

    Definition: "An Indian dish of puffed rice, onions, spices, and hot chutney."

    3. Ganja

    Eros International

    Definition: "Cannabis."

    4. Dadagiri

    Sippy Films

    Definition: "Intimidating, coercive, or bullying behaviour."

    5. Dum

    Red Chillies Entertainment

    Definition: "Cooked with steam."

    Of course, it's not the Vivek Oberoi kind.

    6. Updation

    srgrafo.deviantart.com

    Definition: The process of updating something.

    To anyone who thought this was a real word before this, I have some news.

    7. Gulab Jamun

    Shashikantdurshettiwar / Getty Images

    Definition: "An Indian sweet consisting of a ball of deep-fried paneer boiled in a sugar syrup."

    8. Blank call

    A.G. Films

    Definition: "An anonymous telephone call, or one that is made to threaten, annoy, or harass its recipient."

    9. Joint family

    Rajshri Productions

    Definition: "An extended family, typically consisting of three or more generations and their spouses, living together as a single household."

    10. Natak

    UTV Motion Pictures

    Definition: "Drama or dramatic art."

    11. Papad

    Mukesh-kumar / Getty Images

    Definition: "A poppadom."

    12. Chamcha

    Sippy Films

    Definition: "An obsequious person."

    13. Dhaba

    Anna Zieminski / AFP / Getty Images

    Definition: "A roadside food stall."

    14. Puri

    Se_media / Getty Images

    Definition: "A small, round piece of bread made of unleavened wheat flour, deep-fried and served with meat or vegetables."

    15. Timepass

    UTV Motion Pictures

    Definition: "The action or fact of passing the time, typically in an aimless or unproductive way."

    16. Aadhaar

    Noah Seelam / AFP / Getty Images

    Because, of course.