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The Collins Dictionary word of the year, vibe coding, should be familiar to PCMag readers, but it's just one of a growing number of tech buzzwords born from the AI boom.
Broadly speaking, vibe coding is "telling a machine what you want rather than painstakingly coding it yourself," Collins says. "It’s programming by vibes, not variables."
The origin of "vibe coding" can be traced back to a February 2025 tweet from OpenAI cofounder Andrej Karpathy. "There's a new kind of coding I call 'vibe coding,' where you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists," he said. "It's possible because the large language models are getting too good."
Since then, vibe coding has fundamentally changed how software engineers work, with the AI writing and debugging code for them to approve. It's also allowed amateur programmers to spin up their own apps and websites, making this once-exclusive skill more accessible to the masses.
Anthropic's Claude Code and OpenAI's Codex are popular tools for professionals, along with offerings from Replit, Windsurf, and Cursor. However, they're not perfect. Replit's AI agent went rogue in a July experiment and deleted a company's entire database without its permission.
"While tech experts debate whether it’s revolutionary or reckless, the term has resonated far beyond Silicon Valley, speaking to a broader cultural shift towards AI-assisted everything in everyday life," Collins adds.
The rest of the words on Collins' shortlist are also tech-related, which it says reflects a society that is both embracing and resisting the new trends. Here are the words you'll want to master.
Clanker
"A derogatory term for computers, robots, or sources of artificial intelligence," per Collins. It originates from the Star Wars franchise and is being embraced by a new generation that's fearful of AI taking over entry-level jobs and creative opportunities. "It’s both a joke and a coping mechanism. If the bots are coming for your career, you might as well have a name for them," Collins adds.
Use it in a sentence: Frustrated with the automated phone system, he muttered to himself, "I wish I could just talk to a person instead of this stupid clanker."
Broligarchy
A label for the small clique of very wealthy tech billionaires we hear about too often, such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, and Mark Zuckerberg. This word "captures a growing unease about concentrated power in the hands of a few men who operate at the intersection of technology, wealth, and politics," Collins says. "It’s oligarchy with a Silicon Valley twist, and it’s reshaping democracy in real time."
Use it in a sentence: Looks like President Donald Trump invited the whole broligarchy to dinner.
Aura Farming
A Gen Z phenomenon characterized by trying to look like you are apathetic, or "not trying," particularly in social media videos.
Use it in a sentence: He’s been aura farming all week on Instagram, posting deep quotes and moody selfies just to seem mysterious.
Biohacking
An attempt to improve one's health and longevity by optimizing sleep, diet, and exercise. Multimillionaire Bryan Johnson is arguably the face of this trend and is featured in the Netflix documentary Don't Die for his $2 million-per-year quest to halt the aging process.
Use it in a sentence: Bro, I'm getting really into biohacking. I've started microdosing caffeine, tracking my sleep, and a bunch of new supplements.
HENRY
High Earner, Not Rich Yet. The AI boom has caused a gold rush, and young people are looking to cash in. But those making $250,000 to $500,000 consider themselves high earners, but aren't truly wealthy yet, according to Investopedia.
Use it in a sentence: I don't want to be a HENRY forever. I need one of those $300 million Meta AI pay packages.
Taskmasking
Giving the false impression of productivity at work, by typing irrelevant documents or scheduling pointless meetings. It's a "quiet rebellion against return-to-office mandates that value presence over actual output," Collins says.
Use it in a sentence: Kevin is a taskmasking pro, always clicking around his screen just enough to make the boss think he’s slammed with work.
Micro-Retirement
Career breaks to pursue personal interests, rather than waiting until decades later for formal retirement. "Burnout has driven particularly Gen Z and millennial workers to hit pause, travel, recharge, or simply remember what life feels like when you’re not always ‘on,'" Collins says.
Use it in a sentence: After burning out at her startup, she took a micro-retirement and spent six months backpacking through South America before jumping back into work.
Some of these words—aura farming, Broligarchy, and Clanker—also made it on Dictionary.com's words of the year list. Its top selection, however, is more of a meme than a word: 6-7. (We'll let Mashable explain what that is.) Dictionary.com also included agentic and the Gen Z stare.