Only after multiple checks does the word become part of the dictionary. The word first emerged more than a decade ago as an insult aimed at obsessive K-pop fans, mocking their conviction that they could one day date their idols. For those who haven’t ventured into the strange corners of the internet, skibidi may take some getting used to. In an Olympic first, venues used for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics will be allowed to have corporate sponsor names after LA28 and the International Olympic Committee came to a tradition-bucking agreement announced Thursday. Learned borrowing from Latin spōnsor (“a surety”, in Late Latin “a sponsor in baptism”).
Word History
- A classic product of the post-pandemic world of remote working, mouse jigglers can be both hardware and software designed to keep the mouse icon moving across the screen and prevent standby mode from kicking in.
- And yes, that now includes popular internet slangs like skibidi, delelu and tradwife.
- Other new entries in the dictionary include “mouse jiggler”, a post-pandemic device or piece of software used to make it seem as though you are working when you are not.
- • Work wife / Work spouse – workplace partners who share a strong professional bond.
- The dictionary definition says a tradwife is “especially one who posts on social media”.
Few months back, the Cambridge University Press also announced acknowledging the AI-related term “slop.” Traditionally, slop meant leftover food waste. Now, it also refers to “content on the internet that is of very low quality, especially when it is created by artificial intelligence.” So if your social feed is flooded with bad AI memes or low-effort articles, you’re scrolling through… slop. • Tradwife – “traditional wife,” a social media trend where women embrace homemaking and traditional gender roles. “Work spouse”, meanwhile, is a phrase for workplace relationships where two people help and trust each other, according to the dictionary.
Our Best Historical Slang Terms
Last on our list of highlights is a term introduced thanks to the ongoing spotlight on climate change. It sounds rather like a hark back to sometime around 1955, the days of the BBC radio’s Housewives Choice – in other words not the first phrase that comes to mind in 2025. More remote working since the pandemic helped “mouse jiggler”, meaning a device or piece of software used to make it seem as though you are working when you are not, gain its place in the dictionary. Editors then test whether a word has longevity beyond a fleeting meme, and whether its usage has spread widely enough to warrant inclusion.
Internet culture is changing the English language, and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture,” this is how Colin McIntosh, Lexical Programme Manager at Cambridge Dictionary, summed it up. Meaning, a married woman who stays at home doing cooking, cleaning, and has children that she takes care of, the dictionary definition also says a “tradwife” is “especially one who posts on social media”. Cambridge defines a tradwife as “especially one who posts on social media.”
The phrase has been viewed billions of times online, and even spilled into politics when Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used “delulu with no solulu” earlier this year to mock his parliamentary opponents. Delulu, meanwhile, is shorthand for delusional—the belief that personal fantasies matter more than reality. Its Cambridge entry defines it as “believing things that are not real or true, usually because you choose to.” • Broligarchy – a mix of “bro” and “oligarchy,” describing a small group of super-rich, powerful men in tech or politics. Kim Kardashian once showed off a necklace engraved with Skibidi Toilet, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used the phrase “delulu with no solulu” during a speech.
- No, not a housewife, but a tradwife – a married woman with children who stays at home cooking and cleaning.
- Forever chemicals, man-made substances in living organisms and in the environment that accumulate over time and can’t break down naturally.
- For those who haven’t ventured into the strange corners of the internet, skibidi may take some getting used to.
- “If the word is used in many different contexts over a period of time, the lexicographers add it to the dictionary. If the lexicographers think that a new word might be ephemeral, they keep a record of it to review at a later date,” it adds.
- “Internet culture is changing the English language and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the dictionary,” said the dictionary’s lexical programme manager, Colin McIntosh.
What the skibidi are you talking about?
Delulu is a contraction of ‘delusional’ meaning, according to the dictionary ‘believing things that are not real or true, usually because you choose to’. It has since been sponsor definition in the cambridge english dictionary picked up by several celebrities, including Kim Kardashian, who shared a post on Instagram in October showing a necklace her daughter had given her as a birthday present, engraved with ‘skibidi toilet’. Merging “bro” and “oligarchy”, it refers to “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,” says the dictionary. Meanwhile, new entries like “work wife” and “work spouse” acknowledge workplace relationships where two people help and trust each other, Cambridge Dictionary said. Slang term “skibidi”, a jibberish word, joined the world’s largest online dictionary in the past 12 months.
Where did the term “skibidi” come from?
The tradwife phenomenon, which dates to a least 2020, has also been widely criticised. It refers to socially conservative influencers who celebrate looking after their husbands, children and homes and post about it on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. The dictionary definition says a tradwife is “especially one who posts on social media”.
Mr McIntosh said Cambridge Dictionary only adds words which they believe will stand the test of time. As the series evolved, so did the toilets, spawning variations like the space-themed Astro Toilets. Absurd characters and chaotic humour turned the show into shorthand for “brain rot” media. • Work wife / Work spouse – workplace partners who share a strong professional bond.
New entries confirm increasing influence of TikTok generation on the English language, say compilers
In total, Cambridge has added more than 6000 new entries this year and more than 3200 words last year making it one of the fastest-growing dictionaries in the world. Many of these words are born online, proving how TikTok, memes, and digital culture are reshaping English in real time. In fact it’s 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’. One of the world’s largest glossaries of words has grown by another 6,000 terms and phrases in the past 12 months, reflecting new trends and topics, from climate change to familial relationships. Delulu emerged more than 10 years ago as an insult directed at obsessive K-pop fans to question their belief that they would date their idols. The term “delulu is the solulu” for manifesting your wishes has been viewed billions of times on TikTok.
Once a term proves it has staying power, a draft entry is prepared, complete with definitions, grammar notes, example sentences, and usage labels. Sometimes known as PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) have been used in manufacturing since the 1950s and have found themselves in nearly everything – from carpets and skin products to jet engines and electronics. A classic product of the post-pandemic world of remote working, mouse jigglers can be both hardware and software designed to keep the mouse icon moving across the screen and prevent standby mode from kicking in. But fast forward 70 years and a tradwife is a stay-at-home spouse with one major difference from her slightly outdated counterpart. Put simply, it’s a phrase you can use instead of the bog standard expression ‘what on earth’. For those hoping that such neologisms would be a passing internet craze, the compilers of the dictionary say they are here to stay.
Few months back, the Cambridge University Press also announced acknowledging the AI-related term “slop.”
The Cambridge Dictionary has added over 6,000 new words, including the viral slang term “skibidi,” popularized by the Skibidi Toilet YouTube series. This addition reflects the growing influence of internet culture, particularly TikTok and meme trends, on the evolution of the English language. While some embrace these changes, others express concern about the potential loss of meaning. “It’s not every day you get to see words like skibidi and delulu make their way into the Cambridge Dictionary.
Other new entries in the dictionary include “mouse jiggler”, a post-pandemic device or piece of software used to make it seem as though you are working when you are not. Over 6,000 terms will join the lexicon, reflecting modern life with additions like “mouse jiggler” from remote working, and “forever chemical” highlighting climate change concerns. “If the word is used in many different contexts over a period of time, the lexicographers add it to the dictionary. If the lexicographers think that a new word might be ephemeral, they keep a record of it to review at a later date,” it adds.