Collins Dictionary has officially selected “vibe coding” as its 2025 Word of the Year, a term that, while new, perfectly encapsulates the most significant technological shift of our era. For those outside the tech world, the term might be unfamiliar, but its impact is already being felt as artificial intelligence rewrites the rules of creation and work.
So, what does “vibe coding” actually mean? In short, it is the act of creating software not by writing complex computer code, but by describing the desired outcome in natural language to an AI. The AI then interprets this “vibe” and generates the functional code itself. The term was coined by Andrej Karpathy, a foundational engineer at OpenAI, who described it as a process that lets a user “forget that the code even exists.”
The selection was made by Collins lexicographers after they observed a massive increase in the word’s usage since it first appeared in February. Monitoring a 24-billion-word database from media and social media, they identified “vibe coding” as the most representative word of the year’s linguistic evolution. Alex Beecroft of Collins said it “signals a major shift in software development” toward greater accessibility.
This optimistic view of AI co-exists with our fears. The shortlist also included “clanker,” a Star Wars-derived insult for AI and robots. This word’s popularity on social media highlights a widespread distrust of AI chatbots. The list also featured “broligarchy,” a critical nickname for the powerful tech executives steering this AI revolution.
The rest of the 2025 additions paint a vivid picture of modern life. “Henry,” an acronym for “high earner, not rich yet,” captures economic anxieties. “Biohacking” reflects a scientific quest for longevity, while “coolcation” (a holiday in a cool climate) points to new travel trends. “Taskmasking” (faking productivity) and “micro-retirement” (a career break) round out a list that captures the spirit of the times.