Slang has always been a challenge for the courts in cases that involve vulgar or insulting language. Conventional dictionaries lag the spoken word by design. That has lawyers and judges turning to a more fluid source of definitions: Urban Dictionary, a crowdsourced collection of slang words on the Internet.
— Urban Dictionary Finds a Place in the Courtroom - NYTimes.com
Since conventional dictionaries don’t always include the latest in slang terminology, lawyers and judges are looking to define language in court cases by turning to Urban Dictionary.
— Law and Order and Urban Dictionary - Jen Doll - The Atlantic Wire
The site’s been used in cases ranging from a sexual harrassment lawsuit in Tennessee to a financial restitution case in Wisconsin, and it’s a trend that some legal minds don’t see reversing any time soon.
— Courts are increasingly turning to Urban Dictionary to clarify modern slang language | The Verge
Watson, IBM's supercomputer, memorized Urban Dictionary. Then it was taken away.
Once scholars agonised for years over additions to language. Now, online dictionaries enable instant updates