Oxford picks 2025 word of the year it can actually define

The Oxford English Dictionary publisher chose the word as it has “evolved to signal a deeper shift in how we talk about attention—both how it is given and how it is sought after—engagement, and ethics online” in 2025. This should be pretty evident to anyone who has spent any time not just on X (née Twitter) this year, which incentivizes rage bait by paying money to users who generate the most views, but on the slop-filled feeds of Facebook or Instagram. Oxford claims that usage of the term has “increased threefold” within the past 12 months, which “means we’re increasingly aware of the manipulation tactics we can be drawn into online,” according to President of Oxford Languages Casper Grathwohl. “Where last year’s choice, brain rot, captured the mental drain of endless scrolling, rage bait shines a light on the content purposefully engineered to spark outrage and drive clicks. And together, they form a powerful cycle where outrage sparks engagement, algorithms amplify it, and constant exposure leaves us mentally exhausted.” 

Two other words made the shortlist this year, both of which are also very internet-centric as well. “Aura farming” describes “the cultivation of an impressive, attractive, or charismatic persona or public image by behaving or presenting oneself in a way intended subtly to convey an air of coolness, confidence, or mystique.”  “Biohack,” meanwhile, is a verb that describes an “attempt to improve or optimize one’s physical or mental performance, health, longevity, or wellbeing by altering one’s diet, exercise routine, or lifestyle, or by using other means such as drugs, supplements, or technological devices.” 

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