From ‘giv’er’ to ‘freezie’: Online dictionary highlights uniquely Canadian terms

This image shows the dictionary definition of Canadian. Credit: Shutterstock)

Just in time for Canada Day, a team of B.C. researchers has updated an online dictionary of “Canadianisms” – words and phrases unique to the country ranging from serious to slangy, trivial to tragic, prosaic to political.

The Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles got its most recent update this year and is now mobile-friendly. In total, the third edition contains more than 14,500 meanings for more than 12,000 words.

The dictionary’s chief editor Dr. Stefan Dollinger, an English professor at the University of British Columbia, spoke to CTV News about the project Monday.

“It is the treasure trove of things in English that make Canada Canadian,” he explained.

“And what is a Canadianism? A Canadianism is a word, expression or meaning that originates in what is now Canada, or that is, and this is important, distinctively characteristic of Canadian usage.”

The 2025 update was the culmination of three years of work, resulting in 137 new additions.

The process for adding a word or phrase usually starts with a “hunch,” followed by a search of the word’s usage and evolution through time and a comparison to other forms of English.

“The funny thing is, once you look, you find so many things,” Dollinger said.

“I’m convinced we are just scratching the surface.”

Browsing entries in the dictionary does more than inform the reader about turns of phrase preferred by Canucks or words used almost exclusively north of the 49th parallel – it also highlights some of the central themes of Canadian history and identity, both good and bad.

“Universal healthcare” is in the dictionary. So is “residential school.” Hockey terms feature, as do references to fraught political conflicts and national crises.

“If we celebrate the greatness of Canada then we’ve got to look at the at the flip side, where colonial structures have been used to suppress people to this very day,” Dollinger said.

2025 additions to the dictionary

One category of Canadianism is reserved for words or phrases that originated in the country, including those used to describe significant national events.

“Idle no More,” an Indigenous resistance movement started by four women in Saskatchewan in 2012 is one example. “Land back” as shorthand for “a social justice movement to return unceded lands to Indigenous populations” is also a new addition in this category in the most recent version.

“The Two Michaels,” referring to the years-long detention of Canadian citizens Michael Savor and Michael Kovrig in China in what the dictionary calls “modern-day state-sponsored kidnapping” is also one of the new additions.

“Saskatoon freezing deaths” is another entry in this category, referring to Indigenous men who died after being left “isolated and exposed to the elements in winter outside of Saskatoon by city police,” the dictionary says. “Starlight tour,” the phrase that describes this particular practice of police brutality has also been added.

Using the terms “demolition and renoviction” as shorthand for how renters were driven out of their homes by “largely unchecked profit-maximizing efforts in Canada’s urban rental markets” – particularly in the early 2000s – are entries in this category because they’re almost exclusively used in this country.

On the lighter side, using the term “Canadian tuxedo” to refer to an all-denim ensemble is another new entry – with the dictionary noting its popularity grew in the 2000s after the release of the movie “Super Troopers.”

The word “freezie” to describe a popular treat on a hot day is also, apparently, specific to Canada.

Referring to making a left turn as “hanging a Larry” and making a right turn as “hanging a Roger” also made it in as distinctly Canadian. In the U.S., Dollinger points out, people say, “hanging a Louie” and “hanging a Ralph.”

Words or phrases that are used more frequently in Canada than in other forms of English also make the cut. “Heat dome” and “atmospheric river,” used in reference to recent and catastrophic extreme weather events in British Columbia are new additions in the frequency category. Similarly, calling a wildfire that continues to smoulder under the surface over winter a “zombie fire” has been added due to a recent uptick in Canadian use.

Calling a kilometre a “klick” is also noted for its outsized use in Canada as is referring to someone as being “in hospital.” Describing a puddle-soaked foot as a “booter” (in the Prairie provinces) or a “soaker” (in Ontario) are also new entries in this category.

Other euphemisms added on the basis of frequency include calling whole wheat bread “brown bread,” describing a wheeled, collapsible cart as a “bundle buggy,” and referring to a bachelorette party as a “stagette.”

The “culturally significant” category has entries that run the gamut from terms acknowledging the colonial genocide of Indigenous people to words and phrases commonly heard in arenas.

“Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls” and “MMIWG” are both entries in this category, referring to the thousands of cases of women disappeared or killed in which “police are suspected to have been negligent in their investigations.” A similar entry is “settler-colonial violence” to refer to colonialism and its widespread and enduring harms – including residential schools and their intergenerational impact.

In addition to terms that acknowledged some of the darkest chapters of Canadian history, new entries in this category include terms that have emerged as part of a patriotic response to threats from the U.S. president.

Espresso mixed with hot water saw a rebrand from Americano to “Canadiano” and using the hockey phrase “elbows up” to describe scrappy and distinctly Canadian resistance to being annexed as the 51st state.

Saying – or more likely shouting – “giv’er” to encourage maximum athletic effort or, alternatively, hard partying is another entry in this category. The hockey-specific terms “deke” and “rink rat” are also included.

Other new additions to the dictionary include iconic Canadian foods – ketchup chips and Nanaimo bars. Nicknames for cities also feature, including “Raincouver,” “T-dot,” and “the Peg.”

Non-English words are also among the additions, including “kokum” and “mosum” the Cree words for grandmother and grandfather.

A quiz where people can test their knowledge of Canadianisms can be found on the UBC website.