The Oxford University Press promises it's not rage baiting with its two-word Word of the Year.
The publishing house announced on Dec. 1 that its experts have named "rage bait" the 2025 Word of the Year.
The phrase is shorthand for online content that is intentionally meant to elicit anger. The term has tripled in usage over the last year, according to Oxford.
“The fact that the word rage bait exists and has seen such a dramatic surge in usage means we’re increasingly aware of the manipulation tactics we can be drawn into online," said Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages, in a press release. "Before, the internet was focused on grabbing our attention by sparking curiosity in exchange for clicks, but now we’ve seen a dramatic shift to it hijacking and influencing our emotions, and how we respond."
The Oxford University Press defines "rage bait" as “online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive, typically posted in order to increase traffic to or engagement with a particular web page or social media content.”
