If Gen Z slang words leave you scratching your head, the Cambridge Dictionary has a new update that may help.
The dictionary announced it has added 6,212 new words, phrases, and meanings this year.
Among the most notable entries are skibidi, delulu, tradwife, and lewk.
The word “skibidi” has perhaps the strangest origin.
It spread from a low-resolution meme video featuring a man’s head emerging from a toilet seat while saying the word.
The Cambridge definition reads: “a word that can have different meanings such as ‘cool’ or ‘bad,’ or can be used with no real meaning as a joke.”
For most people outside of Gen Z and Gen Alpha, skibidi amounts to little more than gibberish.
“Delulu” is another term officially recognized.
It’s a play on the word “delusional.”
Do you know young people who use words like skibidi?
Cambridge defines it as someone “believing things that are not real or true, usually because you choose to.”
“Tradwife” also made the list. It refers to a “traditional wife,” a married woman who embraces homemaking and childcare.
‘What the skibidi are you doing?’
On #BBCBreafast Jon & Sarah discussed “skibidi” and “delulu” which are among thousands of new words to be added to the Cambridge Dictionary this year.https://t.co/zAY92zEXnP pic.twitter.com/DT7d4Ks5kT
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) August 18, 2025
The term has gained popularity on Instagram and TikTok as younger women highlight a return to traditional roles.
“Lewk,” meanwhile, is a stylized form of “look.”
It refers to a distinctive outfit or bold fashion statement.
Another new word is “broligarchy.”
Cambridge describes it as “a small group of men, especially men owning or involved in a technology business, who are extremely rich and powerful, and who have or want political influence. The word is a mixture of bro and oligarchy.”
Colin McIntosh, lexical program manager at Cambridge Dictionary, said internet slang has a real impact on language.
“It’s not every day you get to see words like skibidi and delulu make their way into the Cambridge Dictionary,” McIntosh said. “We only add words where we think they’ll have staying power. Internet culture is changing the English language and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the Dictionary.”
Cambridge noted that the additions are part of a broad expansion.
“The 6,212 new words, phrases and meanings, alongside a regular programme of revisions and an expanding range of bilingual dictionaries, make the Cambridge Dictionary one of the fastest-growing dictionaries in the world,” it said.
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