Oxford University Press names 'brain rot' as its word of the year

Oxford University Press (OUP) has named "brain rot" as its Word of the Year for 2024, following a public vote of more than 37,000 people around the world.

The winning word was one of the six contenders shortlisted by OUP’s language experts and was selected through a combination of voting results, public commentary and analysis of OUP’s language data.

The term "brain rot" means "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 to be trivial or unchallenging".  It saw an increase of 230% in its frequency of use from 2023 to 2024.

The Word of the Year is a word or expression that reflects a defining theme from the past 12 months, either having potential as a term of lasting cultural significance or providing a snapshot of society at a certain time.

Although now perhaps considered a modern term, the first use of "brain rot" was in 1854 by Henry David Thoreau in his book Walden, but is now used particularly among Gen Z and Gen Alpha communities on TikTok.

OUP explained that in 2024, "brain rot" is "used to describe both cause and effect, referring to low-quality, low-value content found on social media and the internet, as well as to the subsequent negative impact that consuming this type of content is perceived to have on an individual and society".

Casper Grathwohl, president, Oxford Languages, said: "It’s been insightful and deeply moving to see language lovers all over the world participate and help us select the Oxford Word of the Year 2024.

"Looking back at Oxford Word of the Year over the past two decades, you can see society’s growing preoccupation with how our virtual lives are evolving, the way internet culture is permeating so much of who we are and what we talk about. 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 year marks the third year of the vote, with the six original contenders – brain rot, demure, slop, dynamic pricing, romantasy, and lore – opening for public vote on 14th November for two weeks. Once the voting closed, language experts at OUP conducted a final analysis, considering corpus data, votes and public commentary on the finalists, before naming the Word of the Year for 2024.