TikTok lexicon has made the big time, with 2025 seeing new words such as ‘skibidi’, ‘tradwife’ and ‘delulu’ make it into this year’s Cambridge Dictionary.
If they mean nothing to you, you’re probably over 30. And this should serve as your reminder of the younger gens’ increasing influence on the English language. While previously youth culture terms (see: the ick and chef’s kiss) have made it in, this is the first time TikTok-originating language has made the cut.
Your vision may blur as you try to process ‘skibidi’. Though Cambridge Dictionary’s lexical programme manager Colin McIntosh says: get used to it.
See also: Who are Gen Z? What makes a millennial and which group are you?
“Internet culture is changing the English language and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the dictionary. 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.”
If the Tiktokification of language and the coded messages of the generations below are a mystery to you, don’t try to assimilate. Your colleague doesn't need to hear they’re being delulu from someone your age.
But it is important to know an insult from a compliment, so here’s a glossary of some of the more ‘brainrot’ terms from this year’s 6000-strong selection.
First off skibidi: a gibberish term that originated from a viral animated YouTube series called ‘skibidi toilet’. The dictionary defines it as “a word that can have different meanings such as ‘cool’ or ‘bad’, or can be used with no real meaning as a joke.” Want to use it in a sentence? Try: What the skibidi are you doing?
As well as new terms, other words have been added as shortened versions of existing words and phrases.
Delulu is an abbreviation of delusional, defined as: “believing things that are not real or true, usually because you choose to”. The Gen Z term was good enough for Australia’s prime minister Anothony Albanese, who earlier this year described his opponents in parliament as “delulu with no solulu”. We do not recommend you follow suit in your own workplace.
Tradwife, similarly, is a shortened version of traditional wife, meaning a married woman who stays at home doing cooking, cleaning, and looking after children. The term has grown in popularity on social media, with some controversial high-profile “tradwife” influencers platforming the lifestyle, think Nara Smith and her ASMR tones. The dictionary says a tradwife is especially likely to post on social media.
The dictionary, published by Cambridge University Press, uses a database of more than two billion words of both written and spoken English, to observe the ways in which new words are used, including how often and in which contexts.
A post-pandemic rise in remote working has seen terms like mouse jiggler make the selection, meaning a piece of software or device used to make it seem as though you are working, when you most definitely aren’t. Other terms like work wife and work spouse are defined as the name for a person in the workplace, with whom you have a relationship of trust and admiration.
Broligarchy is a composite term that merges “bro” and “oligarchy”, meaning "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". For examples of those described as “broligarchs”, look to attendees of Donald Trump’s January inauguration such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg.
Lewk, made viral by reality TV show RuPaul's Drag Race, is a play on the word look. It’s a complimentary term for someone’s style, fashion, or outfit, particularly ones that are unusual and impressive. To use it in a sentence, tell your barista they’re “serving a lewk” and thank us for the free coffee later.
