Twittering teenagers have shown their influence over the English language by introducing dozens of new words to the dictionary and helping to reinvigorate older ones.

Grunts and sighs that have been part of conversation since human beings learnt to speak have become part of the lexicon because a generation of internet users began to write them down while conversing in chat rooms and on social networking sites.

Utterances such as “hmm” and “heh” are among 267 additions to this year’s Collins English Dictionary. The need to find spellings for sounds that were traditionally used only in speech has also spawned “meh” (an expression of dissatisfaction) and “mwah” (the sound of a noisy kiss).

Users of social networking sites may also be responsible for the resurgence of “heigh-ho” or “hey-ho” — an exclamation of weariness, disappointment, surprise or happiness — that went out of fashion in the early 20th century.

Twitter, a social networking site that allows people to communicate in messages of 140 characters or less, has also been accepted as a verb by the dictionary to describe the act of using Twitter.

Other internet-derived terms include “noob” (short for newbie, a term for someone unfamiliar with web etiquette) and “woot” (an expression of joy conveying a sense of achievement). New abbreviations used for convenience in text messages such as “OMG” (short for “oh, my God”) “soz” (short for sorry) and wtf (short for “what the f***?”) are also included.

Some new words are more irritating than others. New portmanteau words purporting to describe a new trend include “staycation” (a combination of stay and vacation, meaning to take a holiday without going abroad) and “glamping” (glamorous camping). Traditionalists may also wince at “zeitgeisty” new forms of old words but are likely to be dismissed by more liberal linguists as “buzzkillers” (someone who stops other people from enjoying themselves). More palatable, perhaps, is “beer o’clock” (a time considered appropriate to start drinking).

Incompetent bankers have also made an impact on the language as obscure technical terms are considered mainstream. “Quantitative easing”, the Bank of England’s technique for overcoming negative inflation by effectively printing more money, is in the dictionary.

Environmentalists are also well represented, as English speakers attempt to tackle climate change, or mock those who do. Ecotarians, who eat only food that has been produced in an environmentally friendly manner, may find themselves being lampooned as carborexics, or people regarded as being obsessed with reducing their carbon footprint.

Among the more colourful additions is the verb “to fisk”, meaning to criticise an article or argument point by point. It is named after Robert Fisk, a former Times journalist who now works for The Independent, whose stories have been subjected to criticism.

Elaine Higgleton, editorial director for Collins, said: “English is very good at absorbing new words. [But] in three or four years a lot of these words may have fallen out of use and might well come out of the dictionary.”

Explore Books

• Book Extracts

• Book Reviews

• Books Group

• Audio Books

Times Recommends

• The 100 Best Books of the Decade
• The Times picks the 50 best paperbacks of 2009
• The conversation: James Ellroy