“Rage Bait” Is Oxford’s 2025 Word of the Year

Summary

• The Oxford Word of the Year for 2025 is “rage bait,” selected after a public vote and linguistic analysis
• The term is defined as online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage to boost traffic or engagement
• Its usage has tripled over the last year, reflecting a digital shift toward hijacking and manipulating emotions

The cultural zeitgeist has spoken: the official Oxford University Press Word of the Year for 2025 is “rage bait.” This compound term was selected by language experts, following a public vote involving over 30,000 people, which also considered public commentary and lexical data analysis. It ultimately beat out other strong contenders like “aura farming” and “biohack,” reflecting the dominant conversations and preoccupations of the past year.

“Rage bait” is formally defined as “online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive.” This type of posting is typically used to boost traffic or engagement for a particular web page or social media account. Its usage has tripled over the last 12 months, evolving from a term first used in a 2002 Usenet posting to a mainstream shorthand for deliberately divisive material.

This selection signals a profound shift in the way we discuss online attention, engagement, and ethics. While related to clickbait, “rage bait” focuses more specifically on creating discord, anger, and polarization. Its rise highlights a proven tactic for driving engagement, particularly visible in the realm of performative politics. The word’s new prominence perfectly encapsulates the current digital landscape.

Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, said in a statement:

“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.

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.

Where last year’s choice, brain rot, captured the mental drain of endless scrolling, rage bait shines a light on the content purposefully engineered to spark outrage and drive clicks. And together, they form a powerful cycle where outrage sparks engagement, algorithms amplify it, and constant exposure leaves us mentally exhausted. These words don’t just define trends; they reveal how digital platforms are reshaping our thinking and behaviour.

Year after year, it’s incredible to see the campaign spark curiosity, conversation, and—most importantly—participation. The Oxford Word of the Year invites us to pause and reflect on the forces shaping our collective language. I can’t wait to see what the next year brings.”