Collins 2025 List: A Tale of Ten Modern Terms, from “Vibe Coding” to “Aura Farming”

Collins Dictionary has presented its 2025 list of ten new and notable words, a collection that perfectly captures the technological and social shifts of the year. The top honor, Word of the Year, was awarded to “vibe coding,” an AI-driven term for natural language programming.
Here is the full 2025 list and what it means:
Vibe Coding (Winner): Using AI to turn natural language into computer code. Coined by OpenAI’s Andrej Karpathy, it signals a new, more accessible era of software development.
Clanker: A derogatory term for AI and robots, popularized by Star Wars and used on social media to express frustration with the technology.
Biohacking: Altering one’s natural bodily processes to improve health and longevity.
Henry: An acronym for “high earner, not rich yet,” reflecting modern economic anxieties.
Broligarchy: A nickname for the elite “tech bro” owners of major technology companies.
Glaze: A term of disapproval meaning to praise or flatter someone excessively.
Aura Farming: The deliberate cultivation of a cool, charismatic persona, a trend popularized by the “boat kid” video.
Coolcation: A holiday taken to a place with a cool climate, often to escape heat.
Taskmasking: The act of faking productivity in the workplace.
Micro-Retirement: A break taken between jobs to pursue personal interests.
These ten words, selected by lexicographers from the 24-billion-word Collins Corpus, paint a vivid picture of 2025. As Collins’ managing director Alex Beecroft said, the winner “vibe coding” in particular “perfectly captures how language is evolving alongside technology.”