For the Cambridge Dictionary, the 2025 word of the year is “parasocial,” for Collins Dictionary it’s “vibe coding” and for Dictionary.com it’s the phrase “six-seven.”
The Oxford University Press has taken a more democratic approach. The publisher has produced a shortlist of potential words that is doubling up as a social media campaign by Uncommon Creative Studio, inviting people to vote for their choice. The list is: aura farming, biohack, and rage bait, and each word has been given its own candidate to champion its cause.
The work taps into the cultural tensions, behaviours, and internet dynamics that shaped conversation in 2025 — from the performative mystique of aura farming to the self-optimisation boom driving biohacking, and the rising visibility of rage bait in online forums and comment sections.
Nils Leonard, co-founder of Uncommon Creative Studio, said: “When OUP approached us, we saw an opportunity to treat these words not as static entries in a dictionary, but as living ideas competing for attention — just as they do in the real world. We were excited to partner with OUP to build something playful, provocative, and unmistakably social.”
Tamira Hamden, head of brand & digital communications at Oxford University Press, said: “Every year, Oxford Word of the Year gives us the unique opportunity to connect our world-leading lexicographical data to the forces shaping our collective experience and culture. In 2025, we wanted to find the right partner to help us deepen the conversation around our shortlist – and we needed energy, enthusiasm, challenge, and creativity.”
The fact that there’s no overlap between the words of the year chosen by the different bodies shows just how much of a nonsense it all is. But words really do reflect the zeitgeist and provoke debate: when Cambridge Dictionary decided on “parasocial” it featured newspaper columns and radio phone-ins.
Whether your year has been dominated by online performativity (aura farming), self-optimisation (biohack) or outrage-driven engagement (rage bait), none of it sounds much fun. The winner is announced on 1st December.
MAA creative scale: 7
