‘Brain rot’ has been named the Oxford word of the year in a nod to low-quality social media content that is ‘deteriorating’ British people’s minds.
It was defined as: ‘The supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered trivial or unchallenging’.
Oxford University Press crowned the expression following a public vote that saw more than 37,000 people worldwide have their say.
The president of Oxford Languages Casper Grathwohl said: ‘Last year’s winning word, ”rizz,” was an interesting example of how language is increasingly formed, shaped, and shared within online communities.
”’Brain rot” speaks to one of the perceived dangers of virtual life, and how we are using our free time.
‘It feels like a rightful next chapter in the cultural conversation about humanity and technology.
‘It’s not surprising that so many voters embraced the term, endorsing it as our choice this year.
‘I also find it fascinating that the word ‘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.
‘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 the social media that they’ve inherited.’
This was the third consecutive year that language enthusiasts were invited to have their say, with the six contenders—brain rot, demure, slop, dynamic pricing, romantasy, and lore— opening for public vote on 14 November for two weeks.
Once the voting closed, language experts at OUP conducted a final detailed analysis, considering corpus data, votes, and public commentary on the finalists, before naming the definitive word of the year.
‘Brain rot’ was one of the six contenders shortlisted by OUP’s language experts to reflect some of the moods and conversations that have shaped the past year.
Selected through a combination of voting results, public commentary, and analysis of OUP’s language data, ‘brain rot’ gained new prominence in 2024 as a term used to capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media.
With the first recorded use of ‘brain rot’ in 1854 by Henry David Thoreau in his book Walden, the term has taken on a new significance in the digital age, especially over the last year.
Initially gaining traction on social media platforms, particularly among Gen Z and Gen Alpha communities on TikTok, ‘brain rot’ is now seeing more widespread use.
The usage of ‘brain rot’ saw an increase of 230 per cent in its frequency from 2023 to 2024.