Karachi, November 25, 2025: Oxford University Press has revealed the three words in line to be crowned Oxford Word of the Year 2025: Aura Farming, Biohack, and Rage Bait. To mark the moment, each word has been turned into a real-life candidate, canvassing for your vote on their individual IG profiles. The voting opens today until 27th November at https://corp.oup.com/word-of-the-year/ What do rage bait, aura farming, and biohack have in common? They’ve all dominated conversations in 2025, and now they’re the official contenders for the Oxford Word of the Year.
This year, for the first time, the shortlisted words have become official candidates that will be campaigning for people’s vote – a vote which opens today.
Each ‘candidate’ will officially hit the campaign trail to win the public vote, canvassing via their individual Instagram profiles – https://www.instagram.com/vote_aurafarming/, https://www.instagram.com/vote_biohack/ & https://www.instagram.com/vote_ragebait/.
With competition being fierce this year, manifesto films have been created to capture hearts and comments on social feeds, with each candidate sharing why they believe they deserve to be crowned Word of the Year.
From the internet’s rising appetite for rage bait, to the self-obsessed world of aura farming, and the everyday normalization of finding ways to biohack your life — the Oxford Word of the Year 2025 shortlist reflects how we navigate conflict, identity, and optimization in 2025.
To bring this to life, a suite of creative collateral — from stickers and leaflets to flyposters — will bring an unmistakably election-szn edge, to this years vote.
The shortlisted words in greater definition are:
Aura farming n. The cultivation of an impressive, attractive, or charismatic persona or public image by behaving or presenting oneself in a way intended subtly to convey an air of confidence, coolness, or mystique.
Biohack v. To attempt to improve or optimize one's physical or mental performance, health, longevity, or wellbeing by altering one's diet, exercise routine, or lifestyle, or by using other means such as drugs, supplements, or technological devices.
Rage bait n. Online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive, typically posted in order to increase traffic to or engagement with a particular web page or social media account.
Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, said: “Each year, the Oxford Word of the Year invites us to pause and reflect on the forces shaping our collective language. By letting this year’s shortlisted words speak for themselves, we’re shining a spotlight on just how influential these concepts have become. We hope the campaign sparks curiosity,
conversation, and — most importantly — participation. After all, the Word of the Year — and language itself — belongs to all of us.”
Aura Farming was too busy editing photos of their matcha latte to comment, whilst Rage Bait’s initial statement was deemed too provocative to include in this release. Biohack simply said: “Optimize Your Existence.”
Voting runs from 24th November – 27th November, with the winning word announced by OUP on 1st December. Members of the public can cast their vote at https://corp.oup.com/word-of-the-year/
