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'Rage bait' has been officially crowned as the Oxford University Press' Word of the Year for 2025, beating out the runner-up, 'aura farming'
As the year draws to a close, various dictionaries have highlighted terms that defined the online landscape in 2025.
The Cambridge Dictionary selected 'parasocial' as its word of the year, a choice largely credited to the influence of popular online streamer IShowSpeed. Meanwhile, Dictionary.com selected '67', a term that gained traction due to a "drastic rise" in frustration linked to 'brain rot'.
If you're lost so far, here's what 'rage bait' means:
According to Oxford University Press, rage bait is defined as "online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive, typically posted to increase traffic to or engagement with a particular web page or social media content".
Oxford's selection of 'rage bait' reflects a significant shift in how we interact online
Experts at the Oxford University Press noted that while the term first appeared in 2002, its usage has tripled over the last year. They explained that this surge signals a changing digital culture where attention is increasingly treated as a commodity to be harvested through provocation.
"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," the publisher stated.
They added that the term highlights broader conversations about digital wellbeing, online ethics, and the manufacture of engagement.
This marks the second consecutive year a two-word term has taken the top spot, following 2024's winner, 'brain rot'
Both choices underscore a growing global focus on the psychological impact of Internet culture.
