Collins Dictionary’s word of the year for 2025 was “vibe coding,” a term that AI enthusiasts have coined to suggest that plain language will soon become the lingua franca of programmers in place of, say, Java or C++.
Cambridge Dictionary, meanwhile, went for “parasocial”. This form of one-sided relationship, they said, is on the rise because “social media intensifies the intimacy that fans feel with their adored celebrities,” while “the rise in popularity of AI companions that can take on personalities” doesn’t exactly help.
And now, Oxford Dictionary have shared their choice: rage bait.
What is “rage baiting”?
Another Very Online Pick, the term was chosen by 30,000 people worldwide over three days.
It refers to “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”, the dictionary said.
The term might remind you of “clickbait,” which the language experts explain is a similar, but not identical, phenomenon.
“Although a close parallel to the etymologically related clickbait – with a
shared objective of encouraging online engagement and the potential to elicit
annoyance – rage bait has a more specific focus on evoking anger, discord, and polarisation,” they explained.
The Oxford Dictionary reported that usage of “rage bait” has increased threefold over the past year.
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