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. Why was “rage bait” picked for 2025? “ Aura farming ” and “ biohacking ” were also up for word of the year. But Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, doesn’t seem all that surprised that the more incendiary pick won out. “As technology and artificial intelligence become ever more embedded into our daily lives – from deepfake celebrities and AI-generated influencers to virtual companions and dating platforms – there’s no denying that 2025 has been a year defined by questions around who we truly are; both online and offline,” he said. “The fact that the word rage bait exists and has seen such a dramatic surge in usage means we’re increasingly aware of the manipulation tactics we can be drawn into online. Before, the internet was focused on grabbing our attention by sparking curiosity in exchange for clicks, but now we’ve seen a dramatic shift to it hijacking and influencing our emotions, and how we respond. “It feels like the natural progression in an ongoing conversation about what it means to be human in a tech-driven world – and the extremes of online culture”. Only time will tell if “rage bait,” which Oxford Dictionary’s site calls “the internet’s most effective hook,” will be as relevant in 2026. Related... Collins' Dictionary Just Released Their Word Of The Year, And It's So Of Our Times Therapist Warns Cambridge's Word Of The Year Show A Growing Trend Oxford Dictionary's 2024 Word Of The Year Sums It All Up, Really