In a statement, Merriam-Webster senior editor Emily Brewster said, “Pronouns are among the language's most commonly used words, and like other common words (think go, do, and have) they tend to be mostly ignored by dictionary users. But over the past year or so, as people have increasingly encountered the non-binary use , we've seen searches for 'they' grow dramatically… People were clearly encountering this new use and turning to the dictionary for clarity and for usage guidance.”