PITTSBURGH — “App” ate “nom’s” lunch as the American Dialect Society’s 2010 “Word of the Year” in a Pittsburgh hotel ballroom.

Friday’s vote came at a Pittsburgh hotel ballroom during the national conference of the Linguistic Society of America, an umbrella group that includes the Dialect Society.

“App” — the shortened slang term for a computer or smart phone application — was picked as the word that best took the pulse of the nation in 2010. “Nom,” a chat-, tweet-, and text-friendly syllable that connotes “yummy food” was the runner-up.