Collins Dictionary names 'mogging' its word of the year

The UK Collins Dictionary has declared "mogging", which means to upstage someone, its word of the year.

The dictionary is one of many that names a word of the year, with US-based dictionary.com selecting "maxxing" for 2026.

Both words became popular globally thanks to their prolific use on social media.

What is 'mogging'?

"Mogging" means outperforming or upstaging something or someone.

Think, for example, of a steer being much, much bigger than a bunch of other steers and then going viral for its size.

The word comes from the verb "mog", which is thought to have come from the acronym AMOG, which stands for "alpha male of the group".

"It started life around 2016 as a noun in bodybuilding culture, referring to the most physically dominant man in the gym, before morphing into a verb and doing the rounds in the manosphere," Rachel Quin explained in a blog post for Collins Dictionary.

There have been many concerns raised about the impact conversations about mogging has on young people, particularly young men.

Simon Copland, a sociology researcher at the Australian National University, said some influencers used "dodgy science" to give a formula for mogging someone's looks.

"They try to measure these in a quantitative way, and then that defines whether you're good-looking enough, or good-looking at all," Dr Copland said.

"So, naturally, when you use such quantitative measures, it becomes a hierarchy thing."

However, Ms Quin said the word has transcended those online spaces into wider use and now was "everywhere".

"Teenagers mog elite athletes, a new video game mogs an old favourite, and your friend's sourdough mogs the loaf you spent all weekend proving," she said.

"Basically, if someone or something has made you look a bit rubbish by comparison, you've been mogged."

But there are a few other definitions for the word mog.

Collins Dictionary includes mog as a variation of moggy, which is another word for cat.

Mog can also mean to depart or walk with slow steps.

What does 'word of the year' mean?

It's something some companies that produce major dictionaries do to reflect the vocabulary trends of the past 12 months (and also drum up publicity for their brand).

While it's not clear exactly how Collins Dictionary decided on mogging as its word of the year, the company did say use of the word had increased by 210 per cent in the past 12 months.

The company said its experts monitored a database of about 27 billion words, which draws from sources including social media, to create its annual list of words that reflect the evolution of the English language.

Other words experts shortlisted this year include:

• Bixie: A hairstyle shorter than a bob but longer than a pixie cut.
• Carspreading: The tendency of manufacturers to build cars longer, wider and heavier.
• Firewave: A series of urban wildfires in a short space of time.
• Fricy: A food that is both fruity and spicy.
• Friendslop: A type of low-budget, independently produced video game, played among friends.
• Ghost job: A job that is advertised without any intention to appoint anyone.
• Hydration break: A pause in a sporting contest to allow the contestants to drink fluids.
• Manchesterism: A political philosophy involving devolution of power to regions and emphasising economic and social progress.
• P(doom): An estimation of the probability that AI will bring about the collapse of human civilisation.

Dictionary.com has already announced "maxxing" as its pick for 2026.

"'Maxxing' is a word that refers to the practice of pursuing an activity to the fullest or optimising a certain aspect of your life," the company said.

"It can be used on its own, as in 'everyone is maxxing something … what's yours?'

"But it's especially common when it combines with other words to make new creations like looksmaxxing (optimising one's physical appearance)."

Australia's Macquarie Dictionary generally tends to name its word of the year closer to the end of November.

Last year the Australian publication picked "AI slop", while its 2024 word of the year was "enshittification".