Collins Dictionary’s ‘lighthearted’ Word of the Year 2026 has a sinister history

Photobomb, brat, lockdown. What do all these words have in common?

Well, they’ve all been the previous winners of the Collins Dictionary’s Word of the Year, of course.

For the past 13 years, experts at Collins have bestowed the title upon the word they believe best reflects ‘our ever-evolving language and the preoccupations of those who use it’.

And this year, the winner is ‘mogging’, which has seen a 210% increase in usage in 2026.

Collins say that mogging means to ‘outshine or outperform someone or something… used by both Gen Z and Gen Alpha in a playful and ironic way when someone is upstaged.’

The word tends to be most commonly used in reference to someone’s physical appearance.

For example, if you’re at a party and your friend says to you ‘you’re mogging everyone in here’. It’s their way of letting you know you’re looking 10/10.

You’ve ‘out-mogged’ the entire function. Congratulations.

Alex Beecroft, MD at Collins, said: ‘It’s a great example of how Gen Z and Gen Alpha have adopted a word and turned it into humorous slang, making the language their own and “mogging” the rest of us.’

But while for the most part, this year’s word of the year is lighthearted, like so many viral terms dominating our algorithms right now, it’s rooted in something a lot more sinister: the manosphere.

Where did ‘mogging’ come from?

Metro spoke with Tony Thorne, director of the slang and new language archive at King’s College who says the term first started circulating online back in the 2010s.

According to a number of online sources, it’s derived from the acronym AMOG, which stands for ‘Alpha Male of Group’.

Back then, Tony explains, it was ‘incel-generated language’, used by men who were hyper-focused on their looks and eager to prove their physical dominance, masculinity, and sexual prowess.

It comes from the same universe as ‘looksmaxxing’, a TikTok term that refers to the process of making oneself as physically attractive as possible to gain sexual attention.

There’s an insidious undertone to these trends, where human worth is reduced to algorithmic facial scores, and dangerous methods are promoted in the name of personal enhancement.

One example of this is ‘frame mogging’, wherein an individual’s frame (shoulders, torso width, posture, and silhouette ) makes another look structurally inferior.

How are Gen Z and Gen Alpha using mogging today?

Tony says the terms came even more popular during the pandemic.

‘Increased screen time and constant social media exposure helped appearance-based trends grow faster,’ he tells Metro.

This could include trends like ‘clean girl’ and ‘core’ aesthetics.

Tony continues: ‘By 2024 Gen Alpha, Gen Z and even younger millennials were regularly use the term in memes, reaction posts, and when referring to livestream video clips.’

Mogging doesn’t just have to refer to looks, though.

Another popular use of the term is ‘lifemogging’ — creating and leading a more impressive life compared to others.

There’s also ‘heightmogging’, ‘stylemogging’, and ‘carmogging’.

Should we be worried about ‘mogging’?

Despite recognising its roots in these ‘toxic subcultures’, Tony emphasises that ‘mogging’ has moved well beyond its origins, and many people who use it now tend to understand it and laugh at it, and they use it themselves, but ironically.

‘I sympathise with those who still see the spread of the term and its many elaborations as validating toxic rhetoric.

‘But I don’t think this is the case when many users of the words, especially younger ones, aren’t familiar with or don’t care about its origins.’

In Tony’s opinion, ‘it’s a very conflicted and problematic niche term has been purged and repurposed for lighthearted viral and interpersonal usage.’

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