THE Oxford English Dictionary has named "vape" as its word of the year.

Oxford defines vape as a verb used to "inhale and exhale the vapour produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device" and it can also be used as a noun for the e-cigarette.

Oxford staff editors said on Wednesday people were 30 times more likely to come across the word vape than they were two years ago and usage had more than doubled in the past year.

The apparent rise of e-cigarettes was cited as the reason for the sky-rocketing use of the word.

Vape topped a short list of runners-up that included "bae" which is a term used for a significant other.

Last year's word of the year was "selfie" which described taking a self-portrait usually with a smartphone.

- APN NEWSDESK