Nicholas Goldberg: How does the dictionary define racism? It's evolving

Merriam-Webster, the venerable dictionary publisher, announced two weeks ago that it would update its definition of the word "racism" in response to a request by a 22-year-old woman from Missouri.

But company officials hastened to say that they would do so in line with their long-standing commitment to political neutrality and to the "real-world usage of a word," rather than trying to "promote any particular viewpoint." In other words, there would be no slant, no bias, no subtle editorializing in the revised definition.

That's what Merriam-Webster is trying for with all the