Creepy, zany, and obviously fake content is often called “slop.” The word proliferated online this year. That’s thanks in part to the widespread availability of generative artificial intelligence. Dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster chose the term as its 2025 word of the year.
“It’s such an illustrative word,” says Greg Barlow, Merriam-Webster’s president. “It’s part of a transformative technology, AI, and it’s something that people have found fascinating, annoying, and a little bit ridiculous.”
“Slop” was first used in the 1700s to mean soft mud. Then it came to mean something of little value—think of food waste that’s fed to pigs or other livestock. Now it also refers to “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.”
In other words, “absurd videos, weird advertising images, cheesy propaganda, fake news that looks real, junky AI-written digital books,” Barlow says.
AI video generators can quickly create realistic clips based on text prompts. But a flood of these images online has raised concerns about misinformation, deepfakes, and copyright.
For some, the word induces dread. But for Barlow, it brings hope. That spike in searches for the word? Barlow argues that this shows people have grown more aware of fake or shoddy content. They desire the opposite.
“They want things that are real. They want things that are genuine,” he says. “When it comes to replacing human creativity, sometimes AI actually doesn’t seem so intelligent.”
To select the word of the year, the dictionary’s editors review data about which words have risen in search results and usage. Then they decide which word best reflects the span of the year.
Rounding out Merriam-Webster’s top words of 2025:
6-7
The viral term exploded in popularity over the summer. It’s an inside joke with an unclear meaning.
Performative
“Performative” is online shorthand for someone who does something simply for show or to look better in front of others. Some online influencers have been called performative for posting surface-level “kindness content.”
Gerrymander
There’s a long history of partisan gerrymandering in the United States. This fall, lawmakers in states such as Texas and California worked to redraw maps of voting districts.
Touch grass
The internet phrase means “to participate in normal activities in the real world especially as opposed to online experiences and interactions.” It’s often used to describe the “aspiration” to take a break from a digital addiction, Barlow says.
Conclave
A conclave is the meeting of cardinals to elect a pope. Some learned the word when Pope Leo XIV became the first American pope in May 2025.
Tariffs
Originally from an Arabic word meaning notification, the word entered English centuries ago. U.S. President Donald Trump imposed these taxes on many imported products this year.
Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg
Some encountered the Massachusetts lake’s name in an online game. In New England, it’s also known as Webster Lake.
