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Selfie was named 'word of the 2013' by Oxford Dictionaries but now there's a new term on the block: the usie.

Pronounced 'uss-ee' - and rhyming with 'fussy' - the word marks the growing trend for people squeezing their friends into their camera frame, as well as themselves.

Examples include the famous Oscars usie taken by Bradley Cooper and featuring Kevin Spacey, Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Lawrence and Ellen Degeneres, among others.

Say cheese! There's a new word to describe a group selfie and it's usee (pronounced uss-ee). This is perhaps the most famous example, taken by Bradley Cooper and featuring a host of Hollywood stars at the lastest Oscars ceremony

Some people think selfies are a mark of vanity and Michal Ann Strahilevitz, a professor of marketing at Golden Gate University in San Francisco who studies consumer behaviour, said: 'Usies are a growing trend that I think have far more social value than selfies.'

In contrast to one-person selfies, usies are 'more about the relationship, and less about you and your hair,' he said.

The word, which can be spelled usie, and ussie, has been showing up in written material since at least April 2013, according to Ben Zimmer, executive producer of Vocabulary.com and language columnist for The Wall Street Journal.

A Business Insider story from January noted that the outstretched arm of the photo-taker in usies is a 'signature' of the image, because the shooter has to get the camera far enough away to get the group in the frame.

In March, The Times of India said Pope Francis' group selfie with visitors at the Vatican last year 'could possibly be the first chronicled celebrity usie.'

Other publications have proclaimed the selfie trend dead, with usies rising in popularity to replace them.

'There are countless variations on the theme, including "twofie," "threefie," et cetera, if you want to specify the number of people photographed,' said Zimmer.

A recent study found that selfies taken of a couple, known as relfies, are a sign of a strong relationship, but can make people unpopular with their friends.

Michal Ann Strahilevitz, a professor of marketing at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, said: 'Usies are a growing trend that I think have far more social value than selfies.' Here, Prime Minister David Cameron takes an usie with locals during campaigning for the local election in Harrow, northwest London

In March, The Times of India said Pope Francis' group selfie (pictured) with visitors at the Vatican last year 'could possibly be the first chronicled celebrity usie'

Dr Benjamin Le, of the University of Haverford in Pennsylvania, found that people tended to think their friends were in happier relationships when they first started posting pictures together, or referred to each other in relationship statuses on social networks.

'The take home message is that others will assume you are in a good relationship if you post relfies, change your status to 'in a relationship with…', and talk about your relationship on Facebook,' he wrote.

'In addition, people viewing your profile are pretty accurate in their ratings of your relationship. If you are in a strong relationship, viewers can pick that up from your Facebook profile.

'However, there is some danger in getting too schmoopie about your relationship on Facebook; although your friends will think your relationship is going well, they will like you less.'

The relfie, or 'relationship selfie' can quickly become annoying for friends, researchers have warned - but is a sign of a strong relationship.