In a nod to the pervasive influence of social media on our daily lives, “rage bait” has clinched the title of Oxford Word of the Year. This term captures a widespread phenomenon that many experience while navigating the digital landscape.
The Oxford University Press, the esteemed publisher behind the Oxford English Dictionary, announced that “rage bait” triumphed over other contenders such as “biohack” and “aura farming” in a public vote for this year’s linguistic honor.
Rage baiting involves crafting posts that are intentionally controversial or provocative, often laced with misinformation, with the primary aim of stirring up anger and driving user engagement. This tactic has become increasingly common, as evidenced by a threefold increase in its usage over the past year, according to data from the Oxford University Press.
Although it may seem like a recent addition to our cultural vocabulary, the origins of “rage bait” trace back to 2002. Initially, it was used to describe instances of road rage between drivers before evolving into a term that characterizes certain types of viral online content.
Despite its relatively new place in modern culture, the first use of the word dates back to 2002.
It was first used to describe road rage between two drivers, but then became a way of describing viral online content.
Its official definition, now in the Oxford English Dictionary, is ‘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 account’.
More than 30,000 people voted for this year’s word, with the new noun coming out on top.
Rage bait has seen its usage increase threefold by people describing deliberately controversial content online
Experts at the university noticed that the use of the word has evolved to signal a deeper shift in how attention is spoken about online.
Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, 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.
‘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.
‘It feels like 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.
‘Where last year’s choice, brain rot, captured the mental drain of endless scrolling, rage bait shines a light on the content purposefully engineered to spark outrage and drive clicks.
‘And together, they form a powerful cycle where outrage sparks engagement, algorithms amplify it, and constant exposure leaves us mentally exhausted. These words don’t just define trends; they reveal how digital platforms are reshaping our thinking and behaviour.’
Aura farming – another word which was shortlisted for this year’s crown – is defined as 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.
It first appeared online in 2023 but experts said its usage has surged this year, peaking in July after a viral video in Indonesia of 11-year-old Rayyan Arkan Dikha performing as a motivational dancer for a racing boat crew.
Rayyan Arkan Dikha (L), 11, went viral for his calm dance on the bow of a traditional longboa in Indonesia and was described with the word ‘aura farming’
Similarly to rage bait, its usage is most prevalent online as a way of describing the online behaviour of content creators.
Another contender was biohack, which is defined as an 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.
Oxford University Press experts said the word biohack has doubled in usage in 2025.
They said it has been used increasingly by rich and powerful people to describe their efforts to improve their mental or physical performance, or halting their ageing process.
Rage bait follows a number of social media-driven words which have been named in recent years, including brain rot, rizz and goblin mode in the past three years.
It comes after ‘parasocial’ was chosen as Cambridge Dictionary’s word of the year.
The term refers to a one-sided connection someone feels towards another they do not know – typically a famous person or fictional character. For instance, when pop star Taylor Swift and American football player Travis Kelce announced their engagement this year, many fans had a strong reaction despite never meeting the couple.
Cambridge Dictionary has added some 6,000 new words this year including ‘delulu’, a play on the word delusional, gibberish word ‘skibidi’ and ‘tradwife’, short for traditional wife.
Other words noted as having an impact this year include ‘slop’, in reference to content on the internet that is of very low quality, especially when it is created by artificial intelligence.
Meanwhile, Collins Dictionary selected ‘vibe coding’ as its word of the year.
The word is used to describe an easy way for non–IT minded individuals to make computer code simply by telling AI programs to do it.
