"This year's final contenders were "aura farming," "biohack," and "rage bait." In the end, 30,000 members of the public voted for their top choices, and Oxford chose rage bait as the winner. Per the Oxford Dictionary's editors, rage bait is 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 web page or social media account.""
"This year, rage bait has emerged as both a silly trend on platforms like TikTok and a legitimate marketing tactic for companies attempting to stand out online-and it's a perfect encapsulation of the digital landscape in 2025. What is rage bait? Based on Oxford Dictionary's analysis, the term "rage bait" was first used online more than 20 years ago, in a 2002 posting to Usenet."
"In its earliest form, rage bait referred to a driver's reaction to being flashed at by another driver requesting to pass. Since then, Oxford's post reads, the word has "evolved into internet slang used to describe viral tweets, often to critique entire networks of content that determine what is posted online, like platforms, creators, and trends." In the last 12 months alone, online use of the phrase "rage bait" has tripled."
Oxford Dictionary named 'rage bait' as its official word of 2025 after public voting and lexicographer analysis. The term denotes online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive to increase traffic or engagement on web pages and social media. The shortlist also included 'aura farming' and 'biohack,' with roughly 30,000 public votes contributing. The phrase dates back to a 2002 Usenet posting and originally described a driver's reaction when flashed to pass. The term has evolved into internet slang for viral tweets and broader platform-driven content trends, and usage has tripled in the past year.
Read at Fast Company
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