'Rage bait' is Oxford Dictionary’s 2025 Word of the Year

Oxford Dictionary has revealed that its 2025 Word of the Year is “rage bait!”

According to the dictionary published by the prestigious Oxford University Press (OUP), “rage bait” 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.”

In the last 12 months, “rage bait” has tripled in use, OUP said, with more than 30,000 people voting for it as the Oxford Word of the Year 2025 in just three days of voting.

On the website, OUP described "rage bait" as a compound of two well-established words in English — "rage" and "bait" — that date back to the Middle English times. 

"The emergence of rage bait as a standalone term highlights both the flexibility of the English language, where two established words can be combined to give a more specific meaning in a particular context (in this case, online) and come together to create a term that resonates with the world we live in today," OUP said.

Other words that made it to the Oxford shortlist include aura farming, a noun which means "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;" and biohack, a verb means "to 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."  

While “rage bait” wins Oxford’s crown, the Cambridge Dictionary has selected “parasocial” as its 2025 Word of the Year, announced in November.

It’s defined as "involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know." — Hermes Joy Tunac/LA, GMA Integrated News