The Collins English Dictionary has crowned "mogging" its 2026 Word of the Year, recognising a slang expression that has surged from online youth culture into mainstream use.
Chosen by Collins' team of lexicographers, the annual title is awarded to a word judged to reflect significant trends in language and culture. Previous winners have included terms such as permacrisis, AI, Brat and vibe coding.
"Mogging" refers to outperforming, overshadowing or otherwise outclassing another person. According to Collins, usage of the term increased by 210 per cent this year, helping propel it into everyday conversation.
From internet slang to mainstream vocabulary
Alex Beecroft, managing director of Collins, said the selection reflects the growing influence of younger generations on the evolution of language.
He described "mogging" as an example of how Gen Z and Gen Alpha have adopted and reshaped a term into a humorous expression that has spread well beyond its original audience.
The word is now commonly used in a light-hearted or teasing manner. Someone described as "mogging" others at a party, for example, is generally being praised for standing out or attracting attention.
A more controversial origin
Despite its playful modern use, the word has roots in a far less benign online culture.
The term derives from AMOG, short for "Alpha Male of the Group", and was previously associated with bodybuilding forums and sections of the online "manosphere", where discussions often focused on dominance, status and hyper-masculinity.
Over time, however, younger users have largely detached the word from those origins and repurposed it as a broader slang term.
"Mogging" has also spawned related expressions such as stylemogging, carmogging and lifemogging, which describe outshining others in areas ranging from fashion and possessions to lifestyle choices.
Other contenders
The winning term beat a range of other shortlisted words, including:
- Manchesterism, a term associated with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
- Carspreading, referring to the growing size of modern vehicles.
- Hydration break, a phrase that gained prominence during this year's football World Cup.
Among the other runners-up were:
- Ghost jobs, vacancies advertised with no genuine intention of being filled.
- Bixie, a hairstyle that sits between a bob and a pixie cut.
- P(doom), a term used to describe the perceived probability that artificial intelligence could contribute to the collapse of human civilisation.
The choice of "mogging" highlights how internet-driven slang continues to shape mainstream English, even when its origins are more complex than its modern usage suggests.
