Don’t get too upset, but “rage bait” has been named by Oxford University Press as this year’s Word of the Year, beating other online terms. The group behind the Oxford English Dictionary says the term is a noun which describes online content “deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage in order to increase traffic to a particular web page or social media account." You might be asking — isn’t that two words? The publisher says it’s not tricking you, and adds that it’s one word when used as a hyphenated compound phrase. Why “rage bait?” “The fact that the word exists and has seen such a dramatic surge in usage means we are becoming increasingly aware of the manipulation tactics we can be drawn into online,” said Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages. Last year, the publisher picked “brain rot,” and in 2023 they picked “rizz.” Most people know what brain rot is, but what’s rizz? It may surprise you to learn that it’s "style, charm, or attractiveness; the ability to attract a romantic partner.” Clearly, the word of the year for 2025 is contributing to our societal brain rot.
