“Vibe Coding” Named Collins Dictionary’s Word of the Year
If you’ve ever wished you could build an app without actually learning to code, 2025’s Word of the Year might be your new favorite phrase: “vibe coding.” Chosen by Collins Dictionary, “vibe coding” describes creating software simply by telling an AI what you want — no manual coding needed. Think: “make me an app that plans my weekly meals” — and the AI does the rest.
The term, coined back in February by Andrej Karpathy, a former Tesla AI director and OpenAI co-founder, captures a growing shift in tech. Karpathy said the phrase reflects how AI lets developers “forget that the code even exists” and instead “give in to the vibes.”
Lexicographers at Collins picked the term after seeing its massive spike in use across social media and tech circles. Managing director Alex Beecroft said, “The selection of vibe coding as Collins’ Word of the Year perfectly captures how language is evolving alongside technology. It signals a major shift in software development, where AI is making coding more accessible.”
Beecroft added that this year’s shortlist shows how digital life continues to shape modern language. Other words that made the list include:
- Biohacking – altering your body’s natural processes to boost health or longevity.
- Clanker – a mocking nickname for robots or AI tools, borrowed from Star Wars and revived online by people frustrated with chatbots.
- Aura farming – deliberately crafting a “cool” persona, often for social media.
- Broligarchy – the powerful tech “bros” who dominate Silicon Valley and politics.
- Glaze – flattering someone way too much.
- Henry – short for “high earner, not rich yet.”
- Coolcation – a holiday in a chill (literally cold) location.
- Taskmasking – pretending to be busy at work.
- Micro-retirement – taking a short break between jobs to chase personal goals.
While some of these words have been around for a while, 2025 saw them explode in popularity — especially as social media users embraced new tech slang.
Beecroft summed it up neatly: “The seamless integration of human creativity and machine intelligence demonstrates how natural language is fundamentally changing our interaction with computers.”
