British English:
For the year 2024, the term “brat” has been named the Collins Dictionary word of the year. The interpreters noted that the term epitomises an individual with a hedonistic, confident, and independent nature, saying it quickly became the aesthetic trend of the summer. The inspiration behind this movement, they mentioned, originates from the Charli XCX album carrying the same name. They elaborated that “brat” is more than just a highly impactful album, it’s a cultural marvel resonating with people on a global scale, and the phrase “brat summer” emerged to represent a lifestyle and an aesthetic.
The language experts at the Collins Dictionary keep tabs on the 20 billion-word Collins Corpus, drawing from variegated media platforms such as social media to craft the yearly list of noteworthy and new words. The purpose of these words is to mirror our constantly evolving language and the concerns of its users.
Another term on the current year’s list emphasises the impact of female music celebrities in moulding popular culture. Inspired by Taylor Swift’s immensely successful Eras Tour, the word “Era” has gained common usage to depict a distinct phase in one’s career or life, the organisers explained.
Surprisingly, despite nearly half of the global population participating in voting in this year’s elections, only an election-related term has managed to make its way onto this year’s word list. “Supermajority”, used in the setting of a legislative assembly to imply a large majority which allows the government to establish laws without comprehensive scrutiny, saw a marked surge in usage throughout and in the aftermath of the UK general elections held in July.
New, attention-grabbing words have been created by the younger generations, alongside refreshing existing definitions. One such is “looksmaxxing” gaining attention on social media platforms, which the organisers characterised as endeavours to optimise one’s physical appeal, and not forgetting the act of “yapping”, engaging in lengthy conversations.
Some might view this as quite “delulu”, a term noted on the list, described as slang for being incredibly wrong or ungrounded in one’s thoughts or anticipations. Collins’ Managing Director, Alex Beecroft, expressed that although “supermajority” has borne the brunt in a year marked by political chaos, globally and within the UK, the significant influences in language originated from various sectors. He added, “Considering most of this year’s noteworthy words have been popularised by Generation Z and Alpha, it’s safe to declare this as the most ‘brat’-esque contents of the word of the year list we ever had.”