The term is actually believed to be derived from an episode of The Simpsons, in which Homer suggests taking the family on a fieldtrip, to which Bart and Lisa both respond “meh”, instead continuing to watch television.

It has since spread through the internet and has worked its way into common usage.

The dictionary’s publisher HarperCollins called for the public to submit words that were in common conversational usage but not in the English dictionary, to which the word “meh” was received as the biggest response.

“Meh” beat words such as “frenemy”, an enemy who pretends to be a friend, “huggles”, a combination of a hug and a snuggle and “jargonaut”, meaning someone who excessively creates new words, to be included.