Oxford University Press has named 'rage bait' as its word of the year for 2025, reflecting a surge in the term's usage to describe online content deliberately designed to provoke anger or outrage. Analysis by the publisher shows that use of the phrase has tripled in the past 12 months.
Defined 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 webpage or social media content', the term highlights growing awareness of manipulation tactics online, according to Caspar Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages.
Grathwohl noted a shift from content that grabs attention through curiosity to content that hijacks emotions. He said the term 'feels like the natural progression in an ongoing conversation about what it means to be human in a tech-driven world – and the extremes of online culture'.
Last year's word of the year was 'brain rot', which Grathwohl said captured the mental drain of endless scrolling. Together, 'rage bait' and 'brain rot' form a cycle where outrage sparks engagement, algorithms amplify it, and constant exposure leaves users mentally exhausted.
Although recognised in 2025, 'rage bait' first appeared online in a Usenet posting in 2002, referring to a driver's reaction to being flashed by another driver. It later evolved into internet slang for viral tweets and content networks.
