In a move that could trigger fits of fury among readers, Oxford University Press — publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary — has picked “rage bait” as its 2025 Word of the Year.
The term, which has been used extensively online in recent months, is a noun used to describe internet content that is “deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage” to drive up engagement and clicks.
Oxford University Press said the two words frequently appear with a hyphen connecting them, in the form of a compound phrase, and therefore qualify as a “word” for the purpose of its annual listing.
Rage bait, which has tripled in usage during the past 12 months, was chosen ahead of other strong contenders, including “aura farming”, which is a noun used to describe the online “cultivation of an impressive, attractive, or charismatic persona or public image”, and “biohack”, which is a verb used to describe attempts to modify diet in a bid to improve physical or mental performance.
All three words on the shortlist are from the online world, as was last year’s winner, “brain rot”, which refers to mental degradation associated with endless scrolling, and 2023’s “rizz”, which is derived from “charisma” and describes someone’s online ability to charm or seduce others.
Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages, which compiles Oxford English Dictionary, said “the fact that the word rage bait exists and has seen such a dramatic surge in usage means we’re increasingly aware of the manipulation tactics we can be drawn into online”.
Rage bait was chosen ahead of the other two shortlisted contenders with the help of an online vote.
Grathwohl said this year’s word summarizes a subtle change that has been taking place in the online world in recent years.
“Before, the internet was focused on grabbing our attention by sparking curiosity in exchange for clicks,” he said. “But now, we’ve seen a dramatic shift to it hijacking and influencing our emotions, and how we respond.”
He said the word seems to be part of “the natural progression in an ongoing conversation about what it means to be human in a tech-driven world – and the extremes of online culture”.
Oxford University Press’s lexicographers said they picked their shortlisted words after analyzing the use of new and emerging words, especially those of “cultural significance”.
Other dictionary publishers have also unveiled their words of the year recently. Collins selected “vibe coding”, which refers to an emerging software development process that turns speech into code. Cambridge Dictionary picked “parasocial”, which refers to the bond people sometimes feel with celebrities they do not know. And Macquarie Dictionary chose “AI slop”, another word from the online world, this time used to describe low-quality content created by generative artificial intelligence.
