Words popularized by Gen Z and Gen Alpha, including “Skibidi”, “Delulu” and “Tradwife”, are among 6,000 new items for the online edition of Cambridge Dictionary in the last year, its publisher said Monday.
Cambridge University Press said that Tradwife, a portmanteau of traditional wife, reflected “a growing, controversial Instagram and Tiktok trend that embraces traditional gender roles”.
The dictionary also assumed the challenge of defining skiidi, a word popularized in online memes, as an expression that had “different meanings, such as cool or bad, or can be used without real meaning”.
The Gibberian word was spread by a YouTube channel called “Skibidi toilet” and is associated with the thoughtless “Brain-Rot” content found on social media and consumed by Gen Alpha’s overwhelming digital lifestyle.
The dictionary defined Delulu, derived from the word delusional, such as “to believe in things that are not real or true, usually because you choose to”.
As an example, it quoted a speech from 2025 in parliament, where Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used the phrase “Delulu without Solulu”.
“It’s not every day you get to see words like Skibidi and Delulu Walking their way into the Cambridge dictionary,” said Colin Mcintosh, lexical program director at Cambridge Dictionary.
“We only add words where we think they will have residence. Internet culture changes the English language and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the dictionary.”
Other new sentences include “Lewk”, which is used to describe a unique fashion look and popularized by Rupaul’s drag race and “INSPO”, map for inspiration.
Work from home -culture has given rise to “Mouse Jiggler”, which refers to a way of pretending to work when you are not.
There are also “forever chemical”, man -made chemicals that remain in the environment for years and have gained traction as concerns grow around the irreversible effect of climate change on human and planet’s health.
