Oxford Dictionary's 2024 Word of the Year Is "Brain Rot" — What Does That Even Mean?

From mewing to hopecore to skibidi, the internet has given us a brand new vocabulary over the past few years — and if you're not constantly scrolling TikTok and X (formerly Twitter), it can be difficult to keep up with. However, sometimes, an internet word or phrase comes along that's so widespread and unique that it permeates the mainstream.

For example, brain rot.

Indeed, the term, which sounds like a serious medical emergency, is Oxford Dictionary's 2024 Word of the Year, and you've probably seen it used before. But what does it actually mean? And is it a real thing?

Don't call your doctor just yet. While you may have heard the term "brain rot" and freaked out a little, it's not actually referring to a medical condition. Instead, it's a word or phrase used to describe overconsumption of internet content — often memes that would be indecipherable to someone who spends most of their time offline — to the point of cognitive decline.

People often use it to reference "chronically online" behaviors and jokes like skibidi toilet, Nutter Butter's strange TikTok videos, and more. However, others use it to describe the damage that social media and the internet has done to our attention spans, or that tired, foggy feeling you get after scrolling for too long.

Oxford Press defines brain rot as the "supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as a result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging." It can also be used to refer to the media "characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration."

For example, the John Pork meme both causes and is "brain rot."

"Brain rot speaks to one of the perceived dangers of virtual life, and how we are using our free time," said Casper Grathwohl, the president of Oxford Languages, in a statement.

He continued, "I also find it fascinating that the word ‘brain rot’ has been adopted by Gen Z and Gen Alpha ... These communities have amplified the expression through social media channels, the very place said to cause ‘brain rot' ... It demonstrates a somewhat cheeky self-awareness in the younger generations about the harmful impact of the social media that they’ve inherited.”

Internet slang evolving and expanding into mainstream slang didn't start with brain rot, of course. In fact, the term is preceded as Oxford Dictionary's Word of the Year by 2023's "rizz" and 2022's "goblin mode." And if you're scratching your head, don't worry. We've got you covered on those, as well.

While "brain rot" is an incredibly popular term, and excessive use of social media and the internet seems to be linked to poor mental health, as well as a decline in attention spans, social skills, and more, there is no actual medical condition tied to brain rot.

In reality, it's all about internet behavior and content (from memes to fandom culture) that's perceived by netizens to be cringe-y, low-brow, or only understandable to others who spend all of their time online.