November 8, 2016, marked the end of one of the most eventful presidential election campaigns in United States history. People across the globe watched closely as American voters turned out to cast their votes for their next president – including the millions of people who use the Cambridge Dictionary to help them understand the language used in the English-speaking media.

The Cambridge Dictionary staff tracked the words that were looked up most frequently in the 24 hours from when the polls opened the morning of November 8 until the morning of November 9. All of the words in this blog post that are linked to definitions in the dictionary were looked up with unusual frequency. The full list is at the end of this post.

With no actual results to report until the evening when the polls closed, the media focused on explaining the US electoral system and whether it could really be rigged, as the Republican Party candidate, Donald Trump, claimed. And they turned their attention to the exit polls, which revealed not only voters’ perceptions of the integrity of the candidates, but also their feelings about the election itself. Voters may have been split 50-50 in their support of Mr. Trump or of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party candidate, but 72% of them reported feeling anxious.

As the polls began to close and the results began to be announced, users of the Cambridge Dictionary looked up phrases used to describe a race in which first one and then the other candidate seems to be winning. With the two candidates neck and neck in Florida, the race was described as a toss-up. Later on, when the results of the bellwether state Ohio came in, Democrats began to fear that they were doomed.

Meanwhile, as it became more likely that the US was on the verge of a Trump presidency, the media reported spooked financial markets and plunging stocks.

A surge in votes for Secretary Clinton as the polls in the western states closed, and late reporting from key states where the race was very tight, meant the night continued to be a nail-biter. But in the early hours of November 9, Secretary Clinton conceded the presidential race to Mr. Trump – a result that was stunning for supporters of both candidates. Democrats are reeling from the stunning defeat, and Republicans have goosebumps from the stunning triumph.

Now, the media are talking about the implications for the country.

Here is the list of words looked up most frequently in the Cambridge Dictionary, in rough order of when they were being looked up between November 8 and November 9, 2016.

electoral

precinct

senate

incumbent

poll

cast

issue

sophisticated

anticipate

turn out

campaign

endorsement

impeach

rig

toss-up

appeal

engage

perception

prejudice

concern

enthusiasm

pitch

integrity

anxious

bellwether

neck and neck

projected

nail-biter

down to the wire

doomed

evaluate

severe

impact

plunge

tumble

spook

surge

spectacular

on the verge of

stunning

reel

crush

address

triumph

concession

concede

goosebumps

implication

bigot