A student looks through a dictionary provided by the the Rotary Clubs of Lee County in Florida on Oct. 12, 2018.

Dictionary.com has announced its 2025 Word of the Year, and if you're not up to speed on this year's slang, you may be puzzled by the outcome.

The online dictionary announced on Oct. 29 that its Word of the Year is "6-7" (also "six-seven" and "67"), a slang phrase popularly used by Gen Alpha. While some interpret the phrase to mean "so-so" or "maybe this, maybe that," it is also used as an exclamation, according to a Dictionary.com news release.

"It’s part inside joke, part social signal and part performance," Steve Johnson, director of lexicography for the Dictionary Media Group at IXL Learning said in a news release. "When people say it, they’re not just repeating a meme; they’re shouting a feeling. It’s one of the first Words of the Year that works as an interjection – a burst of energy that spreads and connects people long before anyone agrees on what it actually means."

The popular "6-7" phrase and accompanying hand movement – moving the hands up and down, palms up, like weighing two objects – even made a recent appearance on "South Park." In the Season 28 premiere of the cartoon, character Butters Scotch goes around the elementary school saying different "6-7" jokes to his friends.

"You want to know what time I woke up this morning?" Butters Stotch asks his friends. "Around 6-7." In response, his friends say "6-7" back, both with glee and mirroring the popular hand movement.

"6-7," in some capacity, has been milling around the internet for about 10 months now. Here's a look at how the slang got started.

Where did '6-7' come from?

The origins of "6-7" tie back to the song "Doot Doot," released by rapper Skrilla in December 2024. In the song, Skrilla sings, "The way that switch, I know he dyin'. 6-7. I just bipped right on the highway." According to Know Your Meme, a database for memes and internet slang, some people say "6-7" in the song is in reference to 67th Street, perhaps in Philadelphia, where Skrilla is from. But the rapper had not confirmed the numbers' meaning as of Oct. 28.

The same day "Doot Doot" was released, TikTok user Matvii Grinblat posted a video of Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball. In the video, Grinblat discusses Ball's height, which is 6-foot-7. At this point in the video, the lyric from "Doot Doot" in which Skrilla sings "6-7" is dubbed. As of Oct. 28, the TikTok video had 10.1 million views.

"6-7" died down for a few weeks before exploding again with the "67 Kid" meme. In March, content creator Cam Wilder posted a YouTube video of an Amateur Athletic Union basketball game. In the video, an excited boy says "6-7" to the camera as he moves his hands like weighing two objects, palms up, moving his arms up and down, according to Know Your Meme. The phrase and hand movements have gained widespread traction among Gen Alpha.

See the aforementioned clip below at the 13:24-minute mark.

As "6-7" doesn't appear to be dying down anytime soon, teachers have begun implementing the slang into the classroom, sharing the results on social media.

In September, kindergarten teacher Sara James posted a TikTok video of her counting to 10 with her students. When she and the students get to 6 and 7, James does the popular hand movement as the children yell out in excitement.

"Hey, whatever they like, I'm down for," James wrote in the video's caption. "As long as it keeps them engaged."

What words were Dictionary.com Word of the Year finalists?

Though "6-7" came out on top, here are some of the words that were in the run for Dictionary.com's 2025 Word of the Year:

  • Agentic: Digital technology, like artificial intelligence, capable of acting independently to accomplish a goal or task; acting like a human agent, according to Dictionary.com
  • Aura farming: The act of constantly trying to look cool, confident and unbothered to build "aura moments," per Know Your Meme
  • Gen Z stare: A blank, expressionless stare said to be commonly used by Generation Z used in a place of greeting or small talk, per Know Your Meme
  • Overtourism: A situation in which too many tourists travel to a popular destination, causing the place to suffer negative environmental, economic and sociocultural impacts, according to Dictionary.com
  • Tariff: An official list or table showing the duties or customs imposed by a government on imports or exports, according to Dictionary.com
  • Tradwife: A married woman who chooses to be a homemaker as a primary occupation and adheres to traditional femininity and female gender roles, often associated with conservatism, according to Dictionary.com

This story has been updated to fix a typo.

Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dictionary.com names '6-7' as 2025 Word of the Year. Here's what it really means.

Reporting by Greta Cross, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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