The 2025 Collins Dictionary Word of the Year list suggests we are living in an era defined by “vibes.” The official winner is “vibe coding,” but its linguistic cousin, “aura farming,” also made the list, pointing to a cultural shift where intuition and perceived energy are becoming as important as concrete details.
“Vibe coding” itself is a revolutionary concept: using AI to build software based on natural language and intuitive “vibes” rather than complex, rigid code. Its selection as Word of the Year celebrates this move toward a more human, feeling-based interaction with technology.
This same prioritization of intangible energy is seen in “aura farming.” This viral term describes the art of deliberately cultivating a “cool” or charismatic persona. It’s not about what you do, but the “aura” you project. The term’s popularity, boosted by the “boat kid” trend, shows a social media culture obsessed with this hard-to-define, yet instantly recognizable, quality.
Together, these terms signal a fascinating linguistic trend. We are “vibe coding” with our computers and “aura farming” with our peers. In both our technology and our social lives, the “vibe” is the new currency.
These words, tracked by Collins’ massive language corpus, beat out more concrete terms. They suggest a cultural moment where we are prioritizing intuition, perception, and feeling, and our language is evolving rapidly to capture this abstract new focus.
