Even if you don't know the meaning of the Oxford University Press ' word of the year for 2025, you've probably been a victim of it on social media.

The publisher for the Oxford English Dictionary said on Monday it chose "rage bait" as its top word for the year, capturing the internet zeitgeist of 2025.

The word of the year is selected by lexicographers at Oxford University Press who analyze new and emerging words, as well as changes in the way language is being used, to identify words of "cultural significance."

What is "rage bait"?

The phrase refers to online content that is "deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative or offensive," to drive traffic to a particular social media account, Oxford said in a statement.

"The person producing it wil

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