Rage bait has been named the official Oxford word of 2025 after language experts noticed its usage has tripled this year.
Oxford University Press, which publishes the Oxford English Dictionary, said the phrase was appropriate for a year’s news cycle “dominated by social unrest, debates about the regulation of online content, and concerns over digital wellbeing”.
Rage bait is defined as “online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive, typically posted in order to increase traffic to or engagement with a particular web page or social media content”.
The phrase 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 then evolved into internet slang used to describe viral tweets, often to criticise entire networks of content that determine what is posted online, like platforms, creators, and trends.
Oxford said its experts noticed 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. According to Oxford, its usage has tripled in the last 12 months.
Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages, said about this year’s winner: “As technology and artificial intelligence become ever more embedded into our daily lives – from deepfake celebrities and AI-generated influencers to virtual companions and dating platforms – there’s no denying that 2025 has been a year defined by questions around who we truly are; both online and offline.
“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. 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.”
Mr Grathwohl said this year’s winner shared a similar theme with Oxford’s word of 2024.
He said: “Where last year’s choice, brain rot, captured the mental drain of endless scrolling, rage bait shines a light on the content purposefully engineered to spark outrage and drive clicks.
“And together, they form a powerful cycle where outrage sparks engagement, algorithms amplify it, and constant exposure leaves us mentally exhausted. These words don’t just define trends; they reveal how digital platforms are reshaping our thinking and behaviour.”
The Oxford word of the year can be a singular word or expression, which its lexicographers think of as a single unit of meaning.
