Oxford just dropped its Word of the Year for 2025, and it’s guaranteed to rile up anyone who insists a word must be, well, one word.
“Rage bait” took the top spot, beating out aura farming and biohack.
What does Rage bait mean?
The Oxford Dictionary 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.”
Is rage bait one or two words?
Rage bait is technically two words, but Oxford says its Word of the Year can be a single word or an expression.
“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," said Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages. "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."
Another word (or number) of the year
Rage bait isn’t the only unconventional choice earning year-end recognition. Dictionary.com selected “67” as its word of the year.
“67,” pronounced “six-seven,” is described as a meme, slang or an inside joke that can be used in multiple contexts and does not have a precise definition.
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