LONDON (AP) — Many of us have felt it, and now it’s official: “brain rot” is the Oxford dictionaries’ word of the year. Oxford University Press said Monday that the evocative phrase “gained new prominence in 2024,” with its frequency of use increasing 230% from the year before.

The phrase “brain rot” spiked 230 percent from 2023 to 2024, according to the makers of the Oxford English Dictionary

Oxford University Press said the phrase "brain rot" gained "new prominence in 2024," with its frequency of use increasing 230% from the year before.

The Oxford University Press has announced its word of the year for 2024: “brain rot,” a term connected to the effects of wasting too much time online. According to a statement from the publisher, which assembles the Oxford English Dictionary,

The first recorded use of “brain rot,” according to Oxford University Press, was in Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, published in 1854. “While England endeavours to cure the potato-rot, will not any endeavour to cure the brain-rot, which prevails so much more widely and fatally?” wrote Thoreau in his treatise on transcendentalism.

"Brain rot," though first recorded in Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, has emerged as a defining word of online, and especially meme, culture.

Oxford University Press has named “brain rot” as its 2024 Word of the Year, reflecting concerns about mental strain from consuming trivial or unchallenging online content.

BOSTON - Oxford University Press has officially dubbed "brain rot" its 2024 word of the year. It's described as that feeling you get after spending hours scrolling through social media. You could say this news has been 170 years in the making.

Oxford Languages President Casper Grathwohl said that in its modern sense, “’brain rot’ speaks to one of the perceived dangers of virtual life, and how we are using our free