Skibidi, tradwife and delulu: Social media words dominate new additions to Cambridge dictionary
"Skibidi", "tradwife", "delulu" and other slang terms popularised by social media are among thousands of new words to be added to the Cambridge Dictionary this year.
Several phrases were also added, such as "mouse jiggler" to refer to inactive work-from-home employees, and the term "forever chemical," a label given to extremely persistent man-made chemicals that pollute the environment.
In total, over 6,000 words were added to the dictionary.
Skibidi, a meme word with a flexible meaning, was coined by the creator of a viral animated video series called "skibidi toilet" on YouTube, Cambridge Dictionary said.
Kim Kardashian revealed her familiarity with the phrase when she posted a video on Instagram in October showing a necklace her daughter had given her as a birthday present, engraved with “skibidi toilet.”
"Internet culture is changing the English language and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the dictionary," said Colin McIntosh, lexical programme manager at Cambridge Dictionary.
What do some of the new words mean?
Skibidi - a gibberish word that can have different meanings, such as cool or bad, or can be used with no real meaning as a joke. An example of its use is: "What the skibidi are you doing?"
Tradwife - short for traditional wife, meaning a married woman who stays at home doing cooking, cleaning, and has children that she takes care of, but also regularly documents their life on social media.
Delulu - a play on the word delusional, with a similar definition: believing things that are not real or true, usually because you choose to.
Broligarchy - a composite word merging 'bro' and 'oligarchy', meaning a small group of men, especially men owning or involved in a technology business, who are extremely rich and powerful, and who have or want political influence. The term has been used to describe Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
Mr McIntosh said Cambridge Dictionary only adds words which they believe will stand the test of time.
“It’s not every day you get to see words like ‘skibidi’ and ‘delulu’ make their way into the Cambridge Dictionary,” he said.
“We only add words where we think they’ll have staying power.”
Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.
Cambridge Dictionary uses the Cambridge English Corpus, a database of more than two billion words of written and spoken English, to observe how new words are used by different people, how often and in what contexts they are used.
More remote working since the pandemic helped “mouse jiggler”, meaning a device or piece of software used to make it seem as though you are working when you are not, gain its place in the dictionary.
Meanwhile, new entries like “work wife” and “work spouse” acknowledge workplace relationships where two people help and trust each other, Cambridge Dictionary said.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...