Don't get angry, but the 2025 Oxford Word of the Year is 'rage bait'

Don't get angry, but the 2025 Oxford Word of the Year is 'rage bait'

Ivy Buck

December 01, 2025 / 4:07 pm

Take a deep breath and think of your happy place: "rage bait" is the 2025 Oxford Word of the Year.

After three days of online voting by more than 30,000 participants, Oxford University Press announced on Monday that "rage bait" is the official pick, beating out fellow shortlist nominees "aura farming" and "biohack."

Defined as "online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive," rage bait is "typically posted in order to increase traffic to or engagement with a particular web page or social media account," according to Oxford's definition.

When internet content produces a charged and negative emotional reaction fro