We live in a visual world, yet, thankfully, words remain powerful and beautiful tools, capable of forming connections and building entire new worlds.
Each year, we welcome the arrival of new words - perhaps a noun or an adjective - that slips into our language unofficially as we pick it up from a friend, social media, or a streaming series. Meanwhile, dictionaries like Collins and Cambridge add popular new words to the English language, choosing terms that often capture the pulse of society and reflect our collective state of mind (remember the Collins Dictionary's 2022 word of the year, "permacrisis"?).
This past summer, we witnessed an intriguing phenomenon: British pop singer Charli XCX's sixth album, "Brat", soared to the top three on both the UK album chart and the US Billboard chart, reaching No. 1 on Billboard's Top Dance/Electronic Albums.
Charli XCX shared on TikTok that, to her, a "brat" is someone with "a pack of cigs, a Bic lighter, and a strappy white top with no bra." She explained further, "You're just like that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes, who feels like herself but maybe also has a breakdown... But kind of like parties through it, is very honest, very blunt. A little bit volatile. Like, does dumb things. But it's brat. You're brat. That's brat."
The trend took off when Charli XCX posted on X (formerly Twitter) three simple words - "kamala IS brat". This reference to U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, currently in the 2024 presidential race, sparked a lively response with the official Kamala Harris HQ account on X embracing the label, promptly updating their banner to a bold lime green (or neon chartreuse / slime green, depending on how you prefer to call the shade of the album cover) and adopting the same font from Charli XCX’s album. Just like that, the summer's trend had arrived in full force.
Some thought that this seemingly fleeting summer trend would end with the season itself, replaced in part by "demure," a concept introduced on TikTok by influencer Jools Lebron, who advised her followers on how to adopt a "demure," "mindful," and "cutesy" persona at work and in daily life (while the word describes someone reserved, composed, and serious, it also took on a satirical twist; the term quickly gained popularity, turning into a trend and landing Lebron a spot in the front row of Bottega Veneta's S/S 25 show during Milan Fashion Week). Yet researchers at Collins tell us now that it's not just a "brat winter" - it's a "brat year". In fact, "brat" has been named Collins' Word of the Year 2024.
In 2023, Collins chose "AI" as Word of the Year and Cambridge selected "hallucinate", reflecting the rise of technology-related terms. This year, "brat" has shifted the focus back to human traits, celebrating independence and boldness. Originally, Collins defined brat as "someone, especially a child, who behaves badly or annoys you." Now, it includes a fresh definition, explaining it can be used as an adjective indicating someone "characterized by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude".
Collins' 2024 top 10 list of words also includes another musician-inspired word: "era", a nod to Taylor Swift and her Eras Tour. Collins defines it as "a period of one's life or career considered as being of a distinctive character".
Other top words come from social media, especially TikTok. These include "yapping" (talking too much), "looksmaxxing" (attempting to maximize one's physical attractiveness), "delulu" (short for deluded, suggesting wildly unrealistic ideas), and "rawdogging" (originally slang for sex without protection, now used to describe tackling something unprepared or unsupported).
In reaction to social content, "brainrot" instead captures an inability to think clearly due to excessive low-quality online content, while "supermajority" comes from the semantic field of politics and indicates "a large majority in a legislative assembly that enables a government to pass laws without effective scrutiny".
Other entries reflect trends and societal shifts, such as "anti-tourism", opposition to mass tourism and "romantasy", a genre blending romance with fantasy.
Collins' list of Words of the Year includes both entirely new words and existing ones that have taken on fresh meanings and what's particularly fascinating about "brat" is how it has disrupted language in a unique way.
Unlike many recent buzzwords from fields like economics, warfare, or technology, "brat" didn't emerge from social media, but in the music scene and then spilled over into fashion through neon green clothes and accessories, and eventually made its way into politics (if Kamala Harris wins the upcoming U.S. election, it would certainly be a "brat moment"…).
So kudos to Charli XCX for giving us the Word of the Year - she might just end up in linguistics books as the most "brat" linguist ever. Now, as we think about the Word of the Year for 2025, let's aim for something rebellious, riotous and energetic like "brat" that can jump from one context to another in an unlikely, yet fascinating way.
One last point: if you think you may have a powerful word or a catchphrase, well, remember what happened to Jools Lebron: at the end of August a man in Washington state filed to trademark "Very Demure… Very Mindful…" to cash in on her success. The incident underscores the importance of securing the rights to a word that's powerful, trendy, or (if you're a fashion creator) even part of a fashion design. So, be a smart brat when you dream up the next cool Word of the Year and don't forget to trademark it.
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