LONDON. ENGLAND – Oxford University Press has named “rage bait” as its word of the year, reflecting the dominant trends of online interaction in 2025. The term describes digital content crafted specifically to provoke anger or outrage—through frustration, provocation, or offensiveness—with the goal of generating clicks, shares, and engagement on social media platforms.
Lexicographer Susie Dent explained that creators of such content often benefit from millions of reactions, shares, and comments, fueled by social media algorithms that prioritize material eliciting strong emotional responses. Rage bait was selected over other shortlisted terms, including “aura farming,” which refers to cultivating a public image designed to convey confidence, coolness, or mystique, and “biohack,” defined as efforts to optimize physical or mental performance, health, or longevity. The Oxford University Press word of the year is chosen annually by lexicographers who examine emerging language trends and identify words of cultural significance. The tradition, which began in 2004, has previously recognized words such as “podcast” (2005), “emoji” (2015), and “goblin mode” (2022), the latter capturing post-pandemic behavioral shifts.