Oxford University Press — publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary — has picked “rage bait” as its 2025 Word of the Year.
According to Oxford University Press, “rage bait” is defined as “online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive, typically posted to increase traffic to or engagement with a particular web page or social media content”.
With 2025’s news cycle dominated by social unrest, debates about the regulation of online content, and concerns over digital wellbeing, experts of Oxford University Press noticed that the use of “rage bait” this year has evolved to signal a deeper shift in how people talk about attention—both how it is given and how it is sought after—engagement, and ethics online.
Rage bait, which has tripled in usage during the past 12 months, was chosen ahead of other strong contenders. One contender is “aura farming”, a noun used to describe the online “cultivation of an impressive, attractive, or charismatic persona or public image”. Another one is “biohack”, a verb used to describe attempts to modify diet in a bid to improve physical or mental performance.
Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages, said, “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”.
Grathwohl said this year’s word summarises a subtle change that has been taking place in the online world in recent years. “Before, the internet was focused on grabbing our attention by sparking curiosity in exchange for clicks,” he said. “But now, we’ve seen a dramatic shift to it hijacking and influencing our emotions, and how we respond.”
Additional reporting by Oxford University Press and China Daily.
