Oxford’s 2024 Word of the Year is more than a century old, but that doesn’t mean it’s not incredibly relevant in 2024.

The winner, announced on Monday by the University of Oxford, was “brain rot” — a term that describes the overconsumption of material or content to the point that it deteriorates one’s mental state. (As in, how sludgy you feel after bingeing an entire Netflix show after — or while — doomscrolling.)According to Oxford, the word was first used in 1854 in Henry

David Thoreau’s book “Walden.” But in 2024, the term is finding a new meaning as people are surrounded by scrolling their phones, notifications and memes. The word, according to Oxford, has seen a 230 percent increase in usage between 2023 and 2024.But who decides what is the word of the year? Many dictionary organizations have issued their pronouncements this month, and multiple have honored words originating on and popularized by social media and our changing language, experts said.

свернуть