Rage bait: Expert explains what Oxford word of the year means | News

“Anger trap” has been declared Oxford’s Word of the Year for 2025.

Reflecting the conversations and preoccupations of the past year, three contestants (rage trapping, aura farming and biohacking) were shortlisted by linguists.

Lexicographer Susie Dent explained what the word means while speaking on BBC Breakfast on Monday (December 1).

Oxford University Press said the rage trap was first used online in 2002 in a post on Usenet, “introducing the idea of ​​deliberate agitation, as a way to identify a particular driver’s reaction to being attacked by another driver trying to pass them.”