Today, a going theory about the cause of brain-rot language—as implied by its name—is that people have gotten stupider. But I don’t think this is true.

Brain rot: What is it and how can you combat it? Be mindful about the type of content you are consuming, and how long you are looking at it for. Camilla Foster Monday 02 December 2024 13:02 GMT ...

As someone immersed in the rise of this language, I see brain rot differently. It’s not about confusion or chaos; it’s about making sense of a world that often feels absurd.

Brain rot may have surged in the past year, but its use dates back to 1854, when Henry David Thoreau referenced it in his book Walden. He, too, wielded it to describe a diminished mental acuity.

It’s a phrase that’s been around for nearly two centuries, but amid an influx of social media use brain rot has been named the 2024 word of the year, according to Oxford University Press.

Do you have brain rot? For those who read that as a medical term, you may want to relearn the meaning of this new-generation slang that has earned the 2024 Oxford Word of the Year title, according ...

Jordan Cockrell, director of operations at HAI, talks to Marketing Mag about the need for marketers to balance meme-worthy language with clarity and timelessness. The Oxford English Dictionary’s ...

In brain rot slang, a 'sigma' is a confident, independent-minded person, usually a man. Much like 'alpha' males, seen as high status and dominant, and 'beta' males, seen as lower status, 'sigmas ...

Selected through a combination of voting results, public commentary, and analysis of OUP's language data, 'brain rot' gained new prominence in 2024 as a term used to capture concerns about the ...

Oxford always strives to choose a word that had a big impact on language and culture over the year, like 2023’s winner: “rizz,” which Gen Z throws around a lot to reference swagger or ...

The more trend-conscious among us might raise an eyebrow at Collins Dictionary’s 2024 word of the year, Brat. The word is tied to Charlie XCX’s album that went viral this summer, but brat ...