'Mogging' is Collins' word of the year. (Photo: AI Generated) Mogging has mogged every other word and been named Collins Dictionary’s Word of the Year for 2026. Collins defines it as “the act of outshining or outperforming someone or something.” “Believed to be a shortening of AMOG (‘alpha male of the group’), it started life around 2016 as a noun in bodybuilding culture, referring to the most physically dominant man in the gym, before morphing into a verb and doing the rounds in the manosphere,” Rachel Quin wrote in an article for Collins. This year, the word has entered everyday slang. “Teenagers mog elite athletes, a new video game mogs an old favourite, and your friend’s sourdough mogs the loaf you spent all weekend proving,” Quin said. “Basically, if someone or something has made you look a bit rubbish by comparison, you’ve been mogged.” Read More: Why Dystopian Fiction Keeps Returning To The Question Of Who Holds Power Mogging beat other contenders, including “firewave” and “ghost jobs”. Its usage rose by 210% this year, Collins said in a press release. Last year’s winner was “vibe coding”, while “brat” took the title in 2024. “It’s a great example of how Gen Z and Gen Alpha have adopted a word and turned it into humorous slang, making the language their own and ‘mogging’ the rest of us!” Collins managing director Alex Beecroft said in a statement. The word has been used on social media for quite some time, but it grabbed headlines in February after the influencer Braden Peters, aka “Clavicular”, was allegedly “frame-mogged” by a frat member at Arizona State University. Peters shared the moment with fans on the streaming platform Kick, and a user on X then reposted it, claiming the muscular student had outdone him. Some of his critics were quick to pile on. In internet slang, to be frame-mogged is to have someone’s build or bone structure make you look smaller or less imposing by comparison. The term belongs to looksmaxxing culture, where users swap tips on improving their appearance, and it has since spread well beyond those corners of the internet. Namya is a seasoned journalist with nearly two decades of experience. A graduate of Miranda House, Delhi University, and Boston University's College o... View More