English is evolving faster than ever — and the Cambridge Dictionary’s 2025 update proves it. This year, a record 6,212 new words and meanings have been added, reflecting the huge influence of social media slang, internet culture, and cutting-edge technology. From viral Gen Z terms like delulu and skibidi to tech-driven phrases such as digital decay and fast tech, these additions capture exactly how people talk in 2025. More than just definitions, the update acts as a cultural snapshot of our times, showing how language keeps pace with trends shaping everyday life.
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List of 14 New Words Added to the Cambridge Dictionary in 2025
While the Cambridge Dictionary’s 2025 update introduced a massive 6,212 new words, we’ve highlighted 14 of the most trending entries you’ll actually hear in daily conversations and online. From Gen Z slang like skibidi and delulu to tech-inspired terms like digital decay and mouse jiggler, these words capture how our language is evolving in real time.
| Word | Part of Speech | Definition | Example Usage |
| skibidi | Noun | A viral internet meme featuring a head-in-a-toilet character with different meanings like cool or bad, or can be used with no real meaning as a joke | “What the skibidi are you doing?” |
| delulu | Adjective | “A play on the word delusional, means ‘believing things that are not real or true, usually because you choose to’.” | "She's so delulu thinking he'll ever text her back." |
| lewk | Noun | A play on the word look, meaning a particular style, fashion, or outfit, especially one that is unusual and impressive. | “Her work lewk is formally casual but it suits her.” |
| tradwife | Noun | Short for traditional wife – ‘a married woman, especially one who posts on social media, who stays at home doing cooking, cleaning, etc. | “Gen Z is watching a lot of tradwife content.” |
| broligarchy | Noun | A blend of bro and oligarchy, means ‘a small group of men, especially men owning or involved in a technology business, who are extremely rich and powerful, and who have or want political influence’. | “She wrote a piece about how to survive the broligarchy.” |
| inspo | Noun | Short for inspiration, that gives you ideas for doing something or that makes you want to do something. | "I got so much inspo for my new project from that blog." |
| digital decay | Noun | The gradual process by which information online disappears or becomes inaccessible. | "We have to back up our files to prevent digital decay." |
| gen alpha | Noun | A way of referring to the group of people who were born in the 2010s and early 2020s. | “More than 2.5 million Gen Alphas are born globally each week.” |
| fast tech | Noun | Electronic products that are made and sold cheaply, and often replaced, leading to e-waste. | “Demand for so-called “fast tech” – cheap electronic items often quickly binned or abandoned in drawers – is growing.” |
| snackable | Adjective | Used to describe content that you can read or play in small amounts or for a short time, reflects our ever-shrinking attention spans. | “Make your videos "snackable". Keep each video less than four minutes long.” |
| technofossil | Noun | An object that could remain on the Earth for a very long period after it has been thrown away and is likely to be found and studied by people in the future | “Plastic will definitely be a signature ‘technofossil’, because it is incredibly durable.” |
| mouse jiggler | Noun | A device or piece of software used to make it seem as though a computer mouse is moving so that it seems as though you are working when you are not | “With monitoring software, employers can easily detect mouse jigglers.” |
| work wife | Noun | A woman with whom someone has a close, but not romantic, relationship at work, in which the two people help and trust each other in the same way that a married couple does | “Your work wife is someone you're closer friends with than any of your other colleagues.” |
| work spouse | Noun | A person with whom someone has a close, but not romantic, relationship at work, in which the two people help and trust each other in the same way that a married couple does | “A work spouse is understood to be a colleague with whom you have a strong and trusting bond.” |
(Source- Cambridge Dictionary News and Insight)
Why are these New Words added in the Dictionary?
The Cambridge Dictionary only adds a new word when it shows widespread use and a clear, stable meaning. The 2025 update reflects major shifts in culture, technology, and online life. Words like skibidi and delulu are born from viral social media trends and Gen Z slang, proving how the digital world drives language evolution.
- For example, skibidi comes from the popular YouTube series Skibidi Toilet, while delulu—short for delusional—has become a staple in online conversations.
- Other additions, like fast tech and technofossil, highlight how our vocabulary is evolving to describe new technology, sustainability issues, and scientific concepts.
These entries show that the Cambridge Dictionary doesn’t just record words—it documents cultural and technological change in real time.
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Conclusion
The 2025 list of new words in Cambridge Dictionary is more than just a collection of slang; it's a window into the evolving landscape of our culture and technology. The inclusion of terms like skibidi and delulu shows how the internet is reshaping language, while words like digital decay and fast tech reveal our shifting relationship with technology. Each new word added to the dictionary represents a moment where a term has become so essential to our communication that it earns a permanent place, cementing its role as a historical record for future generations.
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