bespoke
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day
Merriam-Webster
4.5 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 23 December 2025
⏱️ 1 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 23, 2025 is:
bespoke • \bih-SPOHK\ • adjective
Bespoke describes something that is custom-made—that is, made to fit the needs or requirements of a particular person.
// As a tailor, Lana specialized in crafting bespoke clothing for her clients, each piece unique and suited to their tastes.
Examples:
“The vehicles are bespoke machines with every little detail thought of, from embroidered seats to custom floor mats to retro paint jobs.” — Charlie Berrey, SlashGear.com, 10 Nov. 2025
Did you know?
In the English language of yore, the verb bespeak had various meanings, including “to speak,” “to accuse,” and “to complain.” In the 16th century, bespeak acquired another meaning: “to order.” It is from that sense that we get the adjective bespoke, referring to clothes and other things that are ordered before they are made. Bespoke has enjoyed a spike in usage in recent years, perhaps due to consumer trends that champion all things artisanal over those that are prefab.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | It's the Word of the Day for December 23rd. |
| 0:12.0 | Today's word is bespoke, spelled B-E-S-P-O-K-E. |
| 0:17.0 | Bespoke is an adjective. |
| 0:19.0 | It describes something that is custom-made, that is made to fit the needs |
| 0:22.7 | or requirements of a particular person. Here's the word, in a sentence from slashgear.com, |
| 0:29.4 | the vehicles are bespoke machines with every little detail thought of, from embroidered seats |
| 0:35.4 | to custom floor mats to retro paint jobs. |
| 0:39.3 | In the English language of yore, the verb bespeak had various meanings, including to speak, to accuse, and to complain. |
| 0:49.3 | In the 16th century, Bespeak acquired another meaning to order. It is from that sense that we get the adjective |
| 0:57.0 | bespoke, referring to clothes and other things that are ordered before they are made. Bespoke has |
| 1:03.7 | enjoyed a spike in usage in recent years, perhaps due to consumer trends that champion all things |
| 1:09.6 | artisanal over those that are prefab. |
| 1:12.7 | With your word of the day, I'm Peter Sokolowski. |
| 1:19.9 | Visit Miriamwebster.com today for definitions, wordplay, and trending word lookups. |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Merriam-Webster, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Merriam-Webster and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.