Merriam-Webster, one of US‘ oldest and most respected dictionaries, has named “slop” as its word of the year for 2025, citing its widespread use as a term that captures the cultural moment amid the rapid rise of artificial intelligence and low-quality digital content.
Traditionally, slop referred to soft mud, waste food, or other messy, valueless substances. But in 2025, the word has taken on a new cultural meaning – it’s now used to describe AI-generated digital content that is of low quality, mass-produced, and often non-sensical. According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary definition, this includes videos, bizarre images, cheaply written books, fake news that looks real, and other digital media churned out quickly by generative AI tools, often in large quantities and with little meaningful substance.
‘Slop is an illustrative word’
“It’s such an illustrative word…It’s part of a transformative technology, AI, and it’s something that people have found fascinating, annoying and a little bit ridiculous,” Greg Barlow, Merriam-Webster’s president told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview.
Why was ‘slop’ chosen?
The decision to name ‘slop’ as Word of the Year stems from data showing a significant rise in dictionary lookups and usage of the term, Barlow said.
Merriam-Webster’s editors review search trends and cultural relevance when making their yearly pick, aiming to highlight a word that best captures the essence of the year’s public discourse. Past selections have included words like “polarisation” in 2024 and “authentic” in 2023, reflecting social and political currents. “We like to think that we are a mirror for people,” Barlow said.
Which other words made to Merriam-Webster’s shortlist?
Rounding out Merriam-Webster’s top words of 2025 were ‘six seven’, ‘performative’, ‘gerrymandering’ and ‘touch grass’, each reflecting distinct cultural and political conversations that dominated the year. ‘Six seven,’ a phrase that surged in online searches, became shorthand in pop culture and social media discourse, while ‘performative’ was widely used to criticize actions seen as symbolic rather than sincere, particularly in politics and activism.
‘Gerrymandering’ re-entered the spotlight amid ongoing debates over voting rights and American electoral maps, driving renewed interest in the term’s meaning. Meanwhile, ‘touch grass,’ an internet slang phrase urging people to step away from online outrage and reconnect with real life, captured growing fatigue with digital excess and online conflicts.