USA News: The Oxford University Press claims that their two-word Word of the Year isn’t meant to incite anger.
The publishing firm announced on Dec. 1 that its experts had picked “rage bait” the 2025 Word of the Year.
The word is shorthand for online content that is purposely aimed to generate wrath. The phrase has tripled in frequency over the last year, according to Oxford.
In a press statement, Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages, stated, “We’re increasingly aware of the manipulation tactics we can be drawn into online because the word rage bait exists and has seen such a dramatic surge in usage.” “Before, the internet was focused on grabbing our attention by sparking curiosity in exchange for clicks, but now we’ve seen a dramatic shift to it hijacking and influencing our emotions, and how we respond.”
What does ‘rage bait’ mean?
The Oxford University Press defines “rage bait” as “online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive, typically posted in order to increase traffic to or engagement with a particular web page or social media content.” The phrase is a mix of the words fury — meaning: a furious outburst of anger — and bait — meaning: an enticing tidbit of food.
According to Oxford, the term “rage bait” was first used online in 2002 in reference to the behavior of a driver who is flashed at by another driver wanting to pass them. The word then evolved into internet slang and is often used to characterize popular social media content or to disparage producers and trends.
Can the Word of the Year be two words?
Oxford stated its Word of the Year doesn’t have to be a unique word, because its experts also assess phrases as a single unit of meaning.
Similar to this year’s selection, brain rot was last year’s Oxford Word of the Year.
According to the publishing house, in order to identify new and emerging words and expressions, it analyzes statistics and trends to choose its annual Word of the Year. Oxford allows users to vote on its website after its lexicographers create a shortlist for Word of the Year.
According to Oxford, almost 30,000 individuals cast ballots for the Word of the Year shortlist this year.
See Oxford’s shortlist for Word of the Year 2025
Two more terms were in the running for Oxford’s Word of the Year. View the whole shortlist:
aura farming: (n.) 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 confidence, coolness, or mystique.
biohack: (v.) To 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.
rage bait: (n.) Online information purposefully designed to generate anger or outrage by being annoying, provocative, or offensive, generally provided in order to promote traffic to or engagement with a particular web page or social media account.
6-7, parasocial also chosen as terms of the year
For their words of the year, other publishers also selected concepts that alluded to slang and internet fads.
Dictionary.com stated on Oct. 29 that their Word of the Year is “6-7” (also “six-seven” and “67”), a slang word frequently used among Gen Alpha. While some understand the term to indicate “so-so” or “maybe this, maybe that,” it is also used as an exclamation, according to a Dictionary.com press release.
Earlier this month, Cambridge Dictionary also announced it selected “parasocial” for its 2025 Word of the Year. The dictionary defines the word as “involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know.”
According to a news release, the decision was influenced in part by how fans responded to one of the most significant pop culture events of the year: Taylor Swift’s engagement to NFL player Travis Kelce.
