Dictionary.com announced Tuesday its word of the year for 2025 is "67."
67, pronounced "six-seven," traces uncertain roots to the song "Doot Doot (6 7)" by rapper Skrilla, as well as to viral social media videos featuring the song and the phrase. References have spread to NBA and NFL players and throughout classrooms. An associated gesture involves holding one's hands out, empty palms up, and moving them alternately up and down.
67 is considered a meme, slang or an inside joke that can be referenced in multiple contexts, and as such does not have a precise definition. Dictionary.com itself calls the term a form of brainrot — slang for a subgenre of mindless, meaningless, extremely online content.
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Dictionary.com combs through popular search results, social media and headlines when it looks for the most impactful words of the year. They are chosen for their importance to language, historical events and broader cultural trends.
"The Word of the Year isn’t just about popular usage; it reveals the stories we tell about ourselves and how we’ve changed over the year," the group writes.
And sometimes, the word isn't technically a word at all.
