Rage bait named word of the year 2025 by Oxford University Press

Do you find yourself becoming increasingly angry as you scroll through your social media feed?

If so, you may be a victim of the anger trap, which Oxford University Press has named the word or phrase of the year.

It’s a term that describes manipulative tactics used to increase online engagement, and its use has tripled in the last 12 months, according to the dictionary publisher.

Rage bait won the championship, beating the other two terms that made it to the finals (aura farming and biohacking).

The word list is intended to reflect some of the moods and conversations shaping 2025.

Even if you don’t know the term, if you’re a social media user, you’ve likely fallen into the anger trap.

According to Oxford University Press, which publishes the Oxford English Dictionary, it is defined as online content deliberately designed to arouse anger or indignation by being annoying, provocative or offensive.

This type of content is often published to increase traffic to websites or social media accounts.

This is similar to its internet cousin, clickbait, where the headline is used to entice the reader to watch an article or video.

However, rage trap content focuses more specifically on making people angry.

• aura farming: The development of an impressive, attractive, or charismatic personality or public image by behaving or presenting oneself in a manner intended to elegantly convey an air of confidence, composure, or mystery.
• biohacking: Attempting to improve or optimize a person’s physical or mental performance, health, longevity, or well-being by changing a person’s diet, exercise routine, or lifestyle, or by using other means such as medications, supplements, or technological devices.

The three shortlisted words were put to a public vote, the results of which helped guide the final decision taken by OUP’s language experts.

“The fact that the word rage trap exists and has seen such a dramatic increase in use means that we are increasingly aware of the manipulation tactics we can be drawn to online,” said Casper Grathwohl, head of Oxford Languages.

“Previously the internet focused on capturing our attention by arousing curiosity in return for clicks, but now we are seeing a dramatic shift in the way it captures and influences our emotions and the way we react.

“It feels like the natural progression of an ongoing conversation about what it means to be human in a technology-driven world and the excesses of online culture.”

Last year’s word, brain rot, reflected the mental exhaustion that comes with mindlessly scrolling through Instagram or TikTok.

Both the 2024 and 2025 winners had a similar theme, Mr. Grathwohl said.

“Together, they create a powerful cycle where anger fuels engagement, algorithms amplify it, and constant exposure mentally exhausts us,” he said.

Previous Oxford words of the year included selfie, goblin mode and rizz.

Cambridge Dictionary explained parasocial He defined the word 2025 as the relationship someone feels between themselves and a famous person they don’t know.

An example of this is the interest shown by fans when pop star Taylor Swift and American football player Travis Kelce announced their engagement.

Meanwhile, Collins Dictionary vibration codingIt is the art of making an application or website by defining it to artificial intelligence, instead of writing the programming code manually.