'Brain rot' named as Oxford Dictionary's Word of the Year
"Brain rot" has been announced as the Oxford Dictionary's Word of the Year for 2024.
The term has been defined by the dictionary as the "supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as a result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging"
According to its announcement on Monday, Dec. 2, the word increased in usage frequency by 230% between 2023 and 2024.
The announcement came after a public voting in which more than 37,000 people voted "brain rot" as the Oxford Word of the Year for 2024. It also follows public inputs and the dictionary's language corpus data upon declaration.
According to the dictionary, the word gained traction among younger generations.
“I find it fascinating that the term ‘brain rot’ has been adopted by Gen Z and Gen Alpha, those communities largely responsible for the use and creation of the digital content the term refers to," Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, said in a statement.
He added, "These communities have amplified the expression through social media channels, the very place said to cause 'brain rot.' It demonstrates a somewhat cheeky self-awareness in the younger generations about the harmful impact of social media that they’ve inherited."
Brain rot was first used in 1854 in Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden to describe his "experience of living a simple lifestyle in the natural world."
The word is now being used more widely, especially in mainstream journalism, to tackle the negative impact of overconsuming online content.
Other words shortlisted as Oxford's WOTY were "demure," "dynamic pricing," "lore," "romantasy," and "slop."
Oxford Dictionary's Word of the Year in 2023 was "rizz," which refers to someone’s ability to attract another person through style, charm, or attractiveness.
