Collins dictionary has named “vibe coding,” an AI-inspired term for turning natural language into computer code, as its 2025 word of the year.
Lexicographers at Collins, who monitor a 24-billion-word corpus of media and social media sources, chose the term after noting a significant increase in its usage since its first appearance in February. “Vibe coding” describes a method of software development where a person can create an application using AI without needing to understand the underlying code.
The term was coined by Andrej Karpathy, a founding engineer at OpenAI and former AI director at Tesla, to describe a process where a developer could “forget that the code even exists.”
The 2025 list was heavily influenced by technology and AI. Other words on the list include “clanker,” a derogatory term for AI, computers, or robots popularized by Star Wars: The Clone Wars and used to express frustration with AI chatbots.
Also included are “biohacking,” the activity of altering your body’s natural processes for health; “glaze,” meaning to flatter someone excessively; and “aura farming,” the act of cultivating a distinctive and charismatic persona, which gained traction from the “boat kid” video.
Other new additions to the list are:
- broligarchy: A term for the “tech bros” who own the largest global technology companies, which gained notice after their attendance at Donald Trump’s inauguration.
- Henry: An acronym for “high earner, not rich yet.”
- coolcation: A holiday taken to a place with a cool climate.
- taskmasking: The act of giving a false impression that one is being productive at work.
- micro-retirement: A break between periods of employment to pursue personal interests.
Alex Beecroft, the managing director of Collins, stated that “vibe coding” was selected because it “perfectly captures how language is evolving alongside technology” and “signals a major shift in software development, where AI is making coding more accessible.”
