“Skibidi”, “tradwife,” and “delulu” are among the latest words to be added to the Cambridge Dictionary, in a move that reflects the growing influence of TikTok and internet culture on the English language.
For those who may have dismissed such terms as fleeting online slang, lexicographers say the additions are far from temporary.
“Internet culture is changing the English language and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the dictionary,” said Colin McIntosh, the dictionary’s lexical programme manager.
The term skibidi, popularised by the bizarre Skibidi Toilet series on YouTube featuring human heads emerging from toilets, is defined by the dictionary as “a word that can have different meanings, such as ‘cool’ or ‘bad’, or can be used with no real meaning as a joke”. An example given is: “What the skibidi are you doing?” While children and members of Generation Alpha have embraced the word, older generations often react with frustration.
Earlier this year, US writer and artist Lee Escobedo described the trend in the Guardian, saying: “Skibidi brainrot encapsulates a generation fluent in irony but starved for meaning. This kind of hyper-chaotic media serves as both entertainment and an ambient worldview for young men raised online. Their minds normalise prank-as-expression.”
Another entry, tradwife, describes socially conservative women who promote homemaking and submissive marital roles on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. The dictionary defines a tradwife as “especially one who posts on social media”. Though the phenomenon dates back at least to 2020, it has been widely criticised for reinforcing traditional gender roles.
The word delulu, short for “delusional”, is defined as “believing things that are not real or true, usually because you choose to”. It originated more than a decade ago as an insult directed at obsessive K-pop fans and has since been reclaimed online, with the phrase “delulu is the solulu” — a motivational mantra for manifesting dreams — garnering billions of views on TikTok. In a political twist, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recently used the phrase “delulu with no solulu” in parliament to criticise his opponents.
