'Meh', a word that suggests a lack of enthusiasm, has beaten hundreds of others to become the latest addition to the Collins English dictionary.

Meh which can mean unimpressed, mediocre or boring, was chosen as the public's entry for the 30th anniversary edition of the dictionary, which will be published next year.

Jargonaut (someone who uses an excessive amount of jargon), frenemy (an enemy who pretends to be your friend) and huggle (a hug while snuggling) were among other words suggested to the Word of Mouth campaign.

People were asked to recommend a word to panel of language experts who selected Meh because of the frequency of its use.

The word was submitted by Erin Whyte of Nottingham, who defined it as "an expression of utter boredom or an indication of how little you care for an idea".

The dictionary entry will say that Meh can be used as an interjection to suggest indifference or boredom or as an adjective to say something is mediocre or boring or a person is apathetic, bored or unimpressed.

A Collins spokesman said its experts had been aware of the growing use of Meh in both written and spoken language.

He told The Daily Telegraph that the word, which originated in America and Canada [Images], was widely used on the internet and was now appearing in British spoken English.

Cormac McKeown, of Collins Dictionaries, said: "It was spelt out in The Simpsons [Images] when Homer was trying to prise the kids away from the TV with a suggestion for a day trip. They both just replied 'Meh' and kept watching TV".