Oxford University announces ‘Word of the year’ for 2025

The Oxford University Press, responsible for publishing the Oxford English Dictionary, has announced its ‘word of the year’ for the year 2025. The announcement, made by Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages, revealed that the 2025 word of the year is ‘Rage bait’.

The term, Rage-bait, is used to explain the act of deliberately provoking anger or and outrage with a word or a comment. It is mostly seen being used on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and X.

The word can also refer to a content deliberately designed to attract reaction, thereby increasing traffic and engagement. It shares similarities with the word ‘Clickbait‘.

“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,” Grathwohl explained.