“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 Collins Word of the Year 2025 on Thursday.
Coined by OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy, the word refers to “an emerging software development that converts natural language into computer code using AI,” according to the Collins Dictionary.
“It’s about programming for vibrations, not variables,” Collins said.
“While tech experts debate whether it’s revolutionary or reckless, the term has resonated far beyond Silicon Valley, and speaks to a broader cultural shift toward all things AI-assisted in everyday life,” he added.
Collins Dictionary lexicographers monitor the 24 billion-word Collins Corpus, which draws on a variety of media sources, including social media, to create the annual list of new and notable words that reflect our ever-evolving language.
The 2025 shortlist highlights a variety of words that emerged last year to concisely reflect the changing world around us.
“Broligarchy” made the list in a year when tech billionaire Elon Musk was briefly at the heart of US President Donald Trump’s administration and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos became close to the president.
The word is defined as a small clique of very wealthy men who wield political influence.
‘Cooling’
New words tied 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 person, not yet rich.
Another is “taskmasking,” the act of giving a false impression that one is being productive in the workplace, while “micro-retirement” refers to a break between periods of employment to pursue personal interests.
In the field of health and behavior, “biohacking” also has a place, that is, the activity of altering the body’s natural processes in an attempt to improve health and longevity.
Also included are “aura cultivation,” 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 takes a spot: “coolcation,” which means a vacation in a place with a cool climate.
Last year’s word was “Brat,” the name of British singer Charli XCX’s hit sixth album, which means a “confident, independent and hedonistic attitude” rather than simply a term for a misbehaving child.
