Oxford University Press (OUP has declared “rage bait” the 2025 Oxford English Dictionary word of the year.
“Rage bait” is defined as online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive.
According to Oxford, the usage of the word has increased threefold in the last 12 months.
“Rage bait” was first used online in a posting on Usenet in 2002 as a way to designate a particular type of driver reaction to being flashed at by another driver requesting to pass them, introducing the idea of deliberate agitation.
The word emerged as this year’s winner from a shortlist of three finalist words chosen via public vote.
Other contenders were:
Aura farming – the cultivation of an impressive, attractive, or charismatic persona or public image by behaving or presenting oneself in a way intended subtly to convey an air of confidence, coolness or mystique.
Biohack – to attempt to improve or optimise one’s physical or mental performance, health, longevity or wellbeing by altering one’s diet, exercise routine or lifestyle or by using other means such as drugs, supplements or technological devices.
In a statement, Casper Grathwohl, Oxford languages president, said the use of word “rage bait” shows that people are becoming more aware of how online content manipulates emotions.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
The Oxford word of the year 2024 was “brain rot” and “rizz” in 2023.
