What is "buzzword"

also buzz word, 1946, from buzz (n.) + word (n.). Noted as Harvard student slang for the key words in a lecture or reading. Perhaps from the use of buzz in the popular counting game.

n. (context pejorative English) A word drawn from or imitative of technical jargon, and often rendered meaningless and fashionable through abuse by non-technical persons in a seeming show of familiarity with the subject.

n. stock phrases that have become nonsense through endless repetition [syn: cant]

A buzzword is a word or phrase that becomes very popular for a period of time. Buzzwords often derive from technical terms yet often have much of the original technical meaning removed, being simply used to impress others, although such "buzzwords" may still have the full meaning when used in certain technical contexts. Buzzwords often originate in jargon, acronyms, or neologisms. Business speech is particularly vulnerable to buzzwords. Examples of overworked business buzzwords include synergy, vertical, dynamic, cyber and strategy; a common buzzword phrase is " think outside the box".

It has been stated that businesses could not operate without buzzwords as they are 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 can also be seen in business as a way to make people feel like they are all on the same plane. 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 don’t realise 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 regards 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".

The term buzz word was first used in 1946 as student slang.