The American dictionary Merriam-Webster has defined the word of the year for 2025. It is the concept of slop, which describes the mass of low-quality digital content created primarily with the help of artificial intelligence tools.
Merriam-Webster explained that during 2025, users were increasingly exposed to a stream of such content – from pointless videos and strange advertising materials to simplified propaganda, fake news, and books of dubious quality generated by AI. Separately, numerous images of “talking cats” are mentioned, which have become a typical example of this phenomenon.
The word “slop” literally means “swill”. At the same time, its meaning has changed over time: in the 18th century, it was used to refer to liquid dirt or sludge; in the 19th century, to food waste; and later, it acquired a broader meaning of “garbage”. Merriam-Webster notes that, in the context of 2025, this term has acquired an ironic rather than threatening connotation, despite ongoing discussions about the risks associated with the development of artificial intelligence.
In addition to the word of the year, the dictionary also published a list of other terms that often attracted the attention of users in 2025. Among them are gerrymander, which means the manipulative division of electoral districts in favor of a certain political force, and touch grass, a slang term for leaving online life and returning to reality.
Also on the list were the words performative – to describe actions “for show”, tariff – in the sense of customs taxes, six seven – a meaningless exclamation popular among the Alpha generation, and conclave, which refers to the meeting of cardinals to elect the Pope.
Among the most unusual words of the year, Merriam-Webster noted the long name of the lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, which appeared in the game Roblox Spelling Bee.