After 37,000 people voted in the poll, the Oxford University Press has named ‘Brain rot’ the Oxford Word of the Year for 2024.
Brain rot, the term taken on new significance over the past 12 months, is used to describe both the cause and effect of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media. The word gained traction on social media platform including Instagram and TikTok among Gen Z and Gen Alpha communities.
The dictionary publisher’s language experts created a shortlist of six words — demure, Romantasy, Lore, Slop, and dynamic pricing. After two weeks of public voting and widespread conversation, Ocford Press experts came together to consider the public’s input, voting results, and our language data, before declaring ‘brain rot’ as the definitive Word of the Year for 2024.
“The term increased in usage frequency by 230% between 2023 and 2024,” the the publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary, said. Psychologist and Oxford University Professor Andrew Przybylski said the popularity of the word is a “symptom of the time we’re living in”.
What is brain rot?
According to the Oxford University Press, the word is defined as “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.”
According to the Oxford Dictionary publisher, the word ‘brain rot’ was first used in 1854 in Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden, which reports his experiences of living a simple lifestyle in the natural world. As part of his conclusions, Thoreau wrote, “While England endeavours to cure the potato rot, will not any endeavour to cure the brain-rot – which prevails so much more widely and fatally?”
Casper Grathwohl, President of 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.”
“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,” he said.
