Susan Dent (born November 1964) is an English lexicographer, etymologist, and media personality. She has appeared in "Dictionary Corner" on the Channel 4 game show Countdown since 1992. She also appears on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, a post-watershed comedy version of the show.

Early life and education

Dent was born in Woking, Surrey. She was educated at the Marist Convent in Ascot, an independent Roman Catholic day school, with a term at Eton College to study for Oxbridge entrance exams. She went on to Somerville College, Oxford, to read for a BA in modern languages, then to Princeton University to read for a master's degree in German. Upon graduation she spent a year in New York teaching German, until her visa expired and she returned to the UK.

Career

Dent is well known as the resident lexicographer and adjudicator for the letters rounds on Channel 4's longest-running game show, Countdown. She began working on Countdown in 1992 at the insistence of her boss Simon at Oxford University Press (OUP). She had recently switched roles to work on compiling English dictionaries, having previously worked on bilingual dictionaries. At first she declined the Countdown offer, but her boss explained that her appearance on the show formed part of her OUP employment contract and she agreed to take the role. On each episode, she provides a brief commentary on the origin of a particular word or phrase. Dent is the longest-serving member of the show's current on-screen team, first appearing in 1992; she has since made more than 5,000 appearances. Dent also works on the spin-off show 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. Dent appeared as herself in an episode of the BBC sitcom Not Going Out. Dent presented Channel 4 web series Susie Dent's Guide to Swearing, which explored the etymology and history of select English swear words. She has also made an appearance on BBC entertainment show Would I Lie to You?. In 2018, she also appeared on five episodes of the panel show House of Games. In 2019, Dent launched the gold award podcast, Something Rhymes With Purple, co-hosted with her friend Gyles Brandreth; they have followed this up with their live theatre stage residencies using the same formula as their podcast. In 2023, Dent embarked on a solo tour, The Secret Lives of Words. She has been honorary vice-president of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading since 2016, as well as an Honorary Fellow and vice-president of the Chartered Institute of Linguists since 2023. Dent was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2024 Birthday Honours for services to literature and to language.

Published books

From 2003 to 2007, Dent was the author of a series of yearly Language Reports for the Oxford University Press (OUP). The first was simply titled The Language Report, and this was followed by Larpers and Shroomers (2004); Fanboys and Overdogs (2005); The Like, Language Report for Real (2006); and The Language Report: English on the Move 2000–2007 (2007). The format of this publication was revised for 2008 as an A–Z collection of new and newly resurrected words. It was published in October 2008 as Words of the Year (ISBN 9780199551996). In 2005, the same publisher issued Winning Words (ISBN 0199198748), and in 2009, ''What Made the Crocodile Cry? 101 questions about the English language'' (ISBN 0199574154). Dent's book about dialects, How to Talk Like a Local (ISBN 1905211791), was published in March 2010. Her first novel, Guilty by Definition, was published in August 2024.

Personal life

Dent was married to Paul Atkins, a teacher, and has two daughters. They separated in 2021. Dent is an Arsenal supporter.