Rage bait named word of the year 2025 by Oxford University Press

Do you find yourself becoming more irritable when scrolling through your social media feed?

If so, you may be a victim of rage bait, which Oxford University Press has named word or phrase of the year.

A term that describes manipulative tactics used to increase online engagement, its use has tripled in the last 12 months, according to the dictionary publisher.

Rage Bat defeated two other shortlisted words – aura farming and biohack – to win the title.

The list of words aims to reflect some of the moods and conversations that have shaped 2025.

Even if you don’t know the term, if you’re a social media user, there’s a good chance you’ve come across anger.

According to Oxford University Press, which publishes the Oxford English Dictionary, it is defined as online content designed to cause anger or outrage by being deliberately disappointing, provocative or offensive.

Such content is usually posted on websites or social media accounts to increase traffic.

It is similar to its Internet cousin clickbait, where the headline is used to entice the reader to view an article or video.

But there is a more specific focus on crossing people out in anger bait content.

• aura farming: creating a commanding, attractive, or charismatic personality or public image, by behaving or presenting oneself in a way that subtly conveys a sense of confidence, coolness, or mystery.
• biohack: attempting to improve or optimize one’s physical or mental performance, health, longevity, or well-being by making changes to one’s diet, exercise routine, or lifestyle, or by using other means such as medications, supplements, or technological devices.

The three words selected were put to a public vote, the results of which helped guide the final decision taken by OUP’s language experts.

Caspar Grathwohl, Chair of Oxford Languages, said, “The fact that the term rage bait exists and has seen such a dramatic increase in use means that we are becoming increasingly aware of the manipulative tactics we can engage in online.”

“In the past, the Internet was focused on capturing our attention by sparking curiosity rather than clicks, but now we have seen a dramatic shift in how it is influencing our emotions and how we respond.

“It feels like a natural progression in the ongoing conversation about what it means to be human in a technology-driven world – and the extremes of online culture.”

Last year’s Word of the Year, brain rot, reflected the mental devastation of mindlessly scrolling through Instagram or TikTok.

Mr Grathwohl said both the 2024 and 2025 winners had a similar theme.

“Together, they create a powerful cycle where outrage fuels engagement, algorithms amplify it, and constant interaction mentally exhausts us,” he said.

Previous Oxford words of the year include selfie, goblin mode and ridge.

The Cambridge Dictionary has declared parasocial as the word of 2025, which is defined as the relationship a person feels between himself and an unknown famous person.

Examples of this include the interest shown by fans when pop star Taylor Swift and American footballer Travis Kelce announced their engagement.

Meanwhile, the Collins Dictionary vibe went for coding, which is the art of building an app or website by describing artificial intelligence rather than manually writing programming code.