‘Vibe coding’ beats Clanker & glazing for word of the year

Collins Dictionary chose “vibe coding” as its Word of the Year for 2025. It won over other contenders like “clanker,” and the selection highlights how technology, culture, and everyday speech are increasingly connected.

“Programmatic primitives” – a term created by AI researcher Andrej Karpathy – describes a new way of programming using simple, natural language instructions instead of complex code. Instead of writing code step-by-step, you simply tell the AI what you want using everyday language. This change is similar to how AI-powered tools are transforming work in many different fields.

This choice shows that using AI to help with tasks is quickly becoming standard practice. These natural language interfaces are changing not only the way people write code, but also how they work, create things, and connect with each other.

Other shortlisted words for 2025

Collins’ final list includes:

  • clanker: insult aimed at robots or AI systems
  • aura farming: curating a seemingly effortless, magnetic persona
  • taskmasking: looking busy at work while doing unrelated tasks
  • broligarchy: group of male tech billionaires with political clout
  • biohacking: altering the body’s functions for longevity or performance
  • HENRY: high earner, not rich yet
  • micro-retirement: taking breaks between jobs to pursue personal goals
  • coolcation: choosing cooler destinations to escape extreme heat
  • glazing: excessive or undeserved praise

I’ve been following all these new tech trends, and while ‘Clanker’ was funny for a while – everyone used it to playfully poke fun at AI – ‘vibe coding’ really grabbed my attention. It felt like a genuine change in how people actually use software, not just a quick joke. It’s like we’re relating to tech on a whole different level now.

This announcement follows Dictionary.com’s recent selection of the “6-7” TikTok meme as their word of the year. The meme gained huge popularity online, becoming a widely understood joke among internet users.

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2025-11-06 20:18