Slang from TikTok and YouTube Gets Permanent Home
'Skibidi' entered the dictionary with a flexible definition — it can mean 'cool' or 'bad,' or serve as a humorous placeholder with no inherent meaning, often used for emphasis or amusement, as in 'What the skibidi are you doing?'. The term traces its origins to Skibidi Toilet, a surreal animated YouTube series that has become a viral phenomenon, especially among Generation Alpha. The inclusion underscores the influence of internet culture—notably TikTok, YouTube, and meme communities—on the evolution of English.
Also joining the lexicon are 'tradwife,' 'delulu,' 'mouse jiggler,' and 'forever chemical.' 'Tradwife' describes a woman embracing traditional homemaking roles and often sharing her lifestyle on social media; 'delulu' is a shortened form of 'delusional,' used to playfully describe belief in fantasies over reality; 'mouse jiggler' refers to software or a device that simulates computer activity during remote work; and 'forever chemical' denotes persistent environmental pollutants.
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Public reaction has been mixed. Some commentators mocked the inclusion of 'skibidi,' with one remarking that it turns the English language into a 'TikTok comment section'. Artist Lee Escobedo described 'skibidi brain-rot' as embodying a generation fluent in irony yet starved for meaning, suggesting the term illustrates chaotic digital culture dominating young minds.
Despite criticism, supporters argue that dictionaries must evolve with usage. The Cambridge Dictionary's selection process relies on frequency, context, and longevity signals in its corpus, ensuring that only words with staying power are added.
These additions also shine a light on broader linguistic trends. Beyond slang, entries like 'broligarchy,' 'snackable,' and '15-minute city' reflect shifts in political and cultural conversations. The inclusion of 'mouse jiggler' and 'work spouse' reveal how post-pandemic work culture has shaped everyday language.
Cambridge Dictionary's move highlights the increasing permeability between internet subcultures and formal language. Tracking these developments offers insight into evolving communication patterns.
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Arabian Post
4 hours ago
- Arabian Post
Slang from TikTok and YouTube Gets Permanent Home
Cambridge Dictionary has added over 6,000 entries to its online lexicon this year, including the slang 'skibidi,' alongside other terms that reflect internet-era linguistic shifts. Lexical programme manager Colin McIntosh emphasised that each word chosen shows signs of enduring use, based on analysis via the Cambridge English Corpus containing more than two billion instances of written and spoken English. 'Skibidi' entered the dictionary with a flexible definition — it can mean 'cool' or 'bad,' or serve as a humorous placeholder with no inherent meaning, often used for emphasis or amusement, as in 'What the skibidi are you doing?'. The term traces its origins to Skibidi Toilet, a surreal animated YouTube series that has become a viral phenomenon, especially among Generation Alpha. The inclusion underscores the influence of internet culture—notably TikTok, YouTube, and meme communities—on the evolution of English. Also joining the lexicon are 'tradwife,' 'delulu,' 'mouse jiggler,' and 'forever chemical.' 'Tradwife' describes a woman embracing traditional homemaking roles and often sharing her lifestyle on social media; 'delulu' is a shortened form of 'delusional,' used to playfully describe belief in fantasies over reality; 'mouse jiggler' refers to software or a device that simulates computer activity during remote work; and 'forever chemical' denotes persistent environmental pollutants. ADVERTISEMENT Public reaction has been mixed. Some commentators mocked the inclusion of 'skibidi,' with one remarking that it turns the English language into a 'TikTok comment section'. Artist Lee Escobedo described 'skibidi brain-rot' as embodying a generation fluent in irony yet starved for meaning, suggesting the term illustrates chaotic digital culture dominating young minds. Despite criticism, supporters argue that dictionaries must evolve with usage. The Cambridge Dictionary's selection process relies on frequency, context, and longevity signals in its corpus, ensuring that only words with staying power are added. These additions also shine a light on broader linguistic trends. Beyond slang, entries like 'broligarchy,' 'snackable,' and '15-minute city' reflect shifts in political and cultural conversations. The inclusion of 'mouse jiggler' and 'work spouse' reveal how post-pandemic work culture has shaped everyday language. Cambridge Dictionary's move highlights the increasing permeability between internet subcultures and formal language. Tracking these developments offers insight into evolving communication patterns.
Khaleej Times
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'Skibidi' and 'tradwife': Social media words added to Cambridge dictionary
Words popularised by Gen Z and Gen Alpha including "skibidi", "delulu", and "tradwife" are among 6,000 new entries to the online edition of the Cambridge Dictionary over the last year, its publisher said Monday. Cambridge University Press said tradwife, a portmanteau of traditional wife, reflected "a growing, controversial Instagram and TikTok trend that embraces traditional gender roles". The dictionary also took on the challenge of defining skibidi, a word popularised in online memes, as a term which had "different meanings such as cool or bad, or can be used with no real meaning". The gibberish word was spread by a YouTube channel called "Skibidi Toilet" and is associated with the mindless, "brain rot" content found on social media and consumed by Gen Alpha's overwhelmingly digital lifestyle. The dictionary defined delulu, derived from the word delusional, as "believing things that are not real or true, usually because you choose to". As an example, it cited a 2025 speech in parliament where Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used the phrase "delulu with no solulu". "It's not every day you get to see words like skibidi and delulu make their way into the Cambridge Dictionary," said Colin McIntosh, Lexical Programme manager at the Cambridge Dictionary. "We only add words where we think they'll have staying power. Internet culture is changing the English language and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the Dictionary." Other new phrases include "lewk", used to describe a unique fashion look and popularised by RuPaul's Drag Race, and "inspo", short for inspiration. Work from home culture has given rise to "mouse jiggler", referring to a way to pretend to work when you are not. There is also "forever chemical", man-made chemicals that stay in the environment for years and have gained traction as concerns grow about the irreversible impact of climate change on the health of humans and the plant.
The National
11 hours ago
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Skibidi, delulu and tradwife among new words added to Cambridge Dictionary
In a sign of changing times, Cambridge Dictionary has added more than 6,000 new words this year, including slang shaped by Gen Z and Gen Alpha, such as skibidi, delulu and tradwife. 'Internet culture is changing the English language and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the dictionary,' said its lexical programme manager, Colin McIntosh. 'It's not every day you get to see words like 'skibidi' and 'delulu' make their way into the Cambridge Dictionary. We only add words where we think they'll have staying power.' Skibidi is defined in the dictionary as 'a word that can have different meanings such as 'cool' or 'bad', or can be used with no real meaning as a joke'. An example of its use is 'What the skibidi are you doing?' Children often use it to add emphasis to statements. The phrase gained popularity thanks to a viral animated video series on YouTube called Skibidi Toilet, which features human heads protruding from lavatories. Meanwhile, some shortened versions of existing terms have been added, including 'delulu' which is a play on the word 'delusional'. It has a similar definition: 'believing things that are not real or true, usually because you choose to'. Earlier this year, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used the phrase 'delulu with no solulu' to attack his opponents in parliament. Tradwife, which dates back to at least 2020, is short for 'traditional wife' but is a bit of a controversial term. It refers to a married woman who embraces traditional gender roles and posts on social media while focusing on homemaking and supporting her husband by raising the children, cooking and keeping the house clean, while he serves as the breadwinner. Other words added include some composite terms such as 'broligarchy'. Merging 'bro' and 'oligarchy', it means 'a small group of men, especially men owning or involved in a technology business, who are extremely rich and powerful, and who have or want political influence'. It was used to describe tech leaders Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk attending US President Donald Trump's inauguration in January. Meanwhile, other terms added include work spouse, a workplace relationship where two people help and trust each other; lewk, a play on the word look, meaning a particular style or fashion or outfit, especially one that is unusual and impressive; and mouse jiggler, a post-pandemic device or piece of software used to make it seem as though you are working when you are not.
