Oxford University's Word of the Year for 2025 is 'rage bait'
Oxford University's Word of the Year for 2025 has been chosen as 'rage bait.'
The Oxford Word of the Year 2025 is rage bait - Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press language experts selected three words as finalists for the Word of the Year award, reflecting public discussion and interest over the past year: 'rage bait,' 'aura farming,' and 'biohack.' After three days of public voting, with more than 30,000 participants, the experts selected 'rage bait' after considering analysis of lexical data and voter comments.
'Rage bait' is defined as 'online content designed to intentionally provoke anger or outrage by annoying, provoking, or otherwise offending, often posted with the intent of driving traffic to or increasing engagement with a particular web page or social media content.' Provoking other players to anger in online games is also considered 'rage bait.'
'Rage bait' first appeared online in 2002 on the early social networking site Usenet, describing a driver's reaction to being passed by another driver trying to pass them. The term has since evolved into internet slang.
As of 2025, it has become a shorthand for content that provokes outrage through its offensive or intentionally divisive nature, a term used to describe news and content around the world, and is sometimes used as a tactic in performative political activism.
The University of Oxford said: 'The news in 2025 was dominated by words like social unrest, online content regulation debate and
Casper Grathwohl, Managing Director of Oxford University Press, said: '2025 was undeniably the year in which technology and artificial intelligence became deeply ingrained in our daily lives, from deepfakes and AI-generated influencers to virtual companions and dating sites, and was defined by the question: 'What is our true self, online and offline?'' The very existence of the term 'rage bait', and the dramatic surge in its use, reflects a growing awareness of the tactics used to manipulate us online. While the internet was once focused on stimulating curiosity and getting clicks, it has now shifted dramatically towards hijacking and manipulating our emotions and reactions. This feels like a natural extension of a conversation about human nature in a technology-driven world, and the extremes of online culture.'
Recent Oxford Words of the Year are as follows:
2024: Brain rot
2023: rizz (short for 'charisma')
2022: goblin mode (becoming lazy and greedy like a goblin)
2021: Vax (vaccine)
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