Back to today’s briefing

Story perspectives

‘Rage Bait’ Named Oxford's 2025 Word of the Year

12/1/2025

45 8

Summary

Story summary

Oxford University Press selected 'rage bait' as the 2025 Word of the Year, noting its usage has tripled.
In a public vote, it outpaced terms like 'biohack' and 'aura farming'.
The term dates back to at least 2002 and signals concerns about online manipulation.
Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages, highlighted its immediate recognition and relevance to digital behavior.
The selection uses data from a 30-billion-word corpus.

1 of 1

Story summary

Oxford University Press selected 'rage bait' as the 2025 Word of the Year, noting its usage has tripled.
In a public vote, it outpaced terms like 'biohack' and 'aura farming'.
The term dates back to at least 2002 and signals concerns about online manipulation.
Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages, highlighted its immediate recognition and relevance to digital behavior.
The selection uses data from a 30-billion-word corpus.