“Vibe coding,” a word that essentially means using artificial intelligence (AI) to tell a machine what you want instead of coding it yourself, was named the 2025 Collins Word of the Year on Thursday.
Coined by Andrej Karpathy, co-founder of OpenAI, the word refers to “an emerging software development that transforms natural language into computer code using AI,” according to the Collins Dictionary.
“This is programming by vibrations, not by variables,” Collins said.
“While tech experts debate whether this is revolutionary or reckless, the term has resonated far beyond Silicon Valley, speaking to a broader cultural shift toward all things AI-assisted in everyday life,” he adds.
Collins Dictionary lexicographers monitor the 24 billion-word Collins Corpus, which draws on a range of media sources, including social media, to create the annual list of new and noteworthy words that reflect our ever-changing language.
The 2025 shortlist highlights a range of words that have emerged over the past year to concisely reflect the changing world around us.
“Broligarchy” made the list in a year that saw tech billionaire Elon Musk briefly at the heart of US President Donald Trump’s administration and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos cozying up to the president.
The word is defined as a small clique of very wealthy men who wield political influence.
‘Coolcation’
New words related to work and technology include “clanker”, a derogatory term for a computer, robot or source of artificial intelligence, and “HENRY”, an acronym for “high income, not yet rich”.
Another example is “taskmasking”, the act of giving a false impression that one is productive in the workplace, while “micro-retirement” refers to a break taken between periods of employment to pursue personal interests.
In the field of health and behavior, there is also a place for “biohacking”, that is, the activity of modifying the natural processes of one’s body with the aim of improving one’s health and longevity.
Also listed are “aura farming,” the deliberate cultivation of a distinctive, charismatic personality, and the verb “glaze,” to praise or flatter someone excessively or undeservedly.
Although the list is dominated by words related to technology and employment, one from the world of leisure deserves a spot: “coolcation,” which means a vacation to a place with a cool climate.
Last year’s word of the year was “Brat”, the name of British singer Charli
