New Delhi, India

One of the most-widely used dictionaries, Merriam-Webster is set to change the definition of “racism” after a young black woman suggested the word should reflect the oppressive realities faced by many people of colour.

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A graduate from Drake University in Iowa, Kennedy Mitchum contacted the dictionary makers to improve its definition of racism.

"I basically told them that they need to include that there's a systematic oppression upon a group of people," she told a local news outlet. "It's not just, 'Oh, I don't like someone.'"

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Peter Sokolowski, the editorial head of Merriam-Webster told news agency AFP that Mitchum’s request will be entertained and the meaning updated.

According to the Sokolowski, the dictionary has three available definitions of racism, and that it does touch on oppression. But with the new definition coming up, they intend to “make that even more clear in next release".

Racism is defined as "a doctrine or political program based on the assumption of racism and designed to execute its principles," and "a political or social system founded on racism” in the current edition.

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"This is the kind of continuous revision that is part of the work of keeping the dictionary up to date, based on rigorous criteria and research we employ in order to describe the language as it is actually used," Sokolowski told AFP.

Not just the word, but corollary worlds about racism will be updated to acknowledge oppression. He said, words "related to racism or have racial connotations" will be updated based on the new definition.

Additionally, he also apologised on behalf of the company for not addressing the issue sooner. "We apologize for the harm and offense we have caused in failing to address this issue sooner”.

The company has been publishing dictionaries since 1847.