Do you know your 2025 lingo? As 'parasocial' is named word of the year, take the test to see if you can keep up with this year's trending language

Are you down with the latest lingo, or is your vocabulary behind the times?

The answer may lie in which of these trending words and phrases you know the meanings of. 

In recent weeks, Cambridge Dictionary, Dictionary.com, and Collins Dictionary have all announced their 'words of the year'. 

Cambridge Dictionary opted for 'parasocial', defined as a connection someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know or an artificial intelligence (AI).

Collins' chose 'vibe coding' – the use of AI to assist with the writing of computer code. 

And Dictionary.com selected '67' – a phrase originating from the song 'Doot Doot (6,7)' by Skrilla, meaning 'nothing'.

So, do you know your 2025 lingo?

Tap or hover over the terms in our interactive chart below to find out if you know what they really mean.  

Cambridge Dictionary's word of the year is 'parasocial', which has surged in popularity in the social media age. 

The term dates back to 1956, when two University of Chicago sociologists observed that television viewers engaged in parasocial relationships with on–screen personalities, resembling those they formed with 'real' family and friends.

They noted how the rapidly expanding medium of television brought the faces of actors directly into viewers' homes, making them fixtures in people's lives.

'Parasocial captures the 2025 zeitgeist. It's a great example of how language changes,' Colin McIntosh from Cambridge Dictionary said. 

'What was once a specialist academic term has become mainstream. 

'Millions of people are engaged in parasocial relationships; many more are simply intrigued by their rise.

'The data reflects that, with the Cambridge Dictionary website seeing spikes in lookups for 'parasocial'. 

'The language around parasocial phenomena is evolving fast, as technology, society and culture shift and mutate. 

'From celebrities to chatbots, parasocial trends are fascinating for those who are interested in the development of language.'

Cambridge Dictionary also revealed the two other words it had on it its 2025 shortlist – 'pseudonymization', and 'memeify'. 

Pseudonymization is a process in which information that relates to a particular person (for example, a name or email address), is changed to a number or name that has no meaning.

Lookups for this word spiked in May – although it was unclear if this was linked to a specific event or trend, according to Cambridge Dictionary.

'It's a term that is central to discussions about how to protect personal data in a world where this information needs to be useful but not personally identifiable – especially in 2025, as the ethical training of AI models has featured frequently in the news,' it explained. 

Memeify, meanwhile, is a verb meaning to turn an event, image, or person into a meme. 

'Memeify captures the playful, viral creativity of internet culture,' Cambridge Dictionary explained. 

'It highlights how memes, in the tradition of satire, are a mode of both entertainment and communication, blurring the lines between joke and journalism to reframe politics, identity, crises, and culture.'

Beyond the shortlist, Cambridge Dictionary says it is 'watching' five other words – glazing, bias, vibey, breathwork, and doom spending. 

'Glazing' is the excessive use or praise or flattery (especially by AI chatbots), while 'bias' is excessive devotion to a singer, band, or media star. 

'Vibey' describes a place with a good vibe, and 'breathwork' is a technique that involves the conscious control of your breathing. 

Finally, 'doom spending' is the activity of spending money that you do not have in order to make yourself feel better. 

Cambridge Dictionary's list comes shortly after Collins Dictionary announced that its word of the year is 'vibe–coding'. 

Popularised by Andrej Karpathy, former Director of AI at Tesla and founding engineer at OpenAI, vibe–coding is an emerging software development that turns natural language into computer code using AI.

Another word on Collins' list is 'biohacking', defined as the activity of altering the natural processes of one's body in an attempt to improve health and longevity.

Another is 'clanker', a derogatory term for computers, robots, or sources of AI, which was popularised by Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

The word went viral on social media and is often used to express people's frustrations with, and distrust of, AI chatbots and platforms.

Meanwhile, Dictionary.com selected '67' as its word of the year, after the term experienced a dramatic rise beginning in the summer of 2025. 

As for what this means, Dictionary.com says 'it's complicated'. 

'Perhaps the most defining feature of 67 is that it's impossible to define,' it explained.

'It's meaningless, ubiquitous, and nonsensical. In other words, it has all the hallmarks of brainrot.' 

Other terms on Dictionary.com's top list for the year include 'agentic' (technologies that can perform tasks autonomously and make independent decisions), and 'Gen Z stare' (a blank or expressionless look, often used by members of Generation Z). 

Meanwhile, the dynamite emoji was also highlighted, as shorthand for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.

'The dynamite emoji, traditionally representing dynamite, a firecracker, or TNT, took on an unexpected new meaning in 2025,' Dictionary.com explained. 

'Once used to convey excitement, impact, explosive energy, or literal firecrackers, it began to see a playful reinterpretation following the engagement of singer Taylor Swift and professional footballer Travis Kelce.'