Not much of a list from which to choose:
The shortlist, now open to public vote, is as follows:
• Lore (n.): A body of (supposed) facts, background information, and anecdotes relating to someone or something, regarded as knowledge required for full understanding or informed discussion of the subject in question.
• Brain rot (n.): Supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging. Also: something characterised as likely to lead to such deterioration.
• Dynamic pricing (n.): The practice of varying the price for a product or service to reflect changing market conditions; in particular, the charging of a higher price at a time of greater demand.
• Demure (adj.): Of a person: reserved or restrained in appearance or behaviour. Of clothing: not showy, ostentatious, or overly revealing.
• Slop (n.): Art, writing, or other content generated using artificial intelligence, shared and distributed online in an indiscriminate or intrusive way, and characterised as being of low quality, inauthentic, or inaccurate.
• Romantasy (n.): A genre of fiction combining elements of romantic fiction and fantasy, typically featuring themes of magic, the supernatural, or adventure alongside a central romantic storyline.
Keeping in mind that Oxford is BRITISH...
2004: Chav
> Part of speech: Noun
A young person of a type characterized by brash and loutish behaviour and the wearing of designer-style clothes (esp. sportswear).
2005 (US): Podcast
> Part of speech: Noun
A digital audio file of speech, music, broadcast material, etc., made available on the internet for downloading to a computer or portable media player.
ALSO READ: 30 Words That Didn’t Exist 30 Years Ago
2005 (UK): Sudoku
> Part of speech: Noun
A type of logic puzzle, the object of which is to fill a grid of nine squares by nine squares (subdivided into nine regions of three-by-three squares) with the numbers one to nine, in such a way that every number appears only once in each horizontal line, vertical line, and three-by-three subdivision.
2006 (US): Carbon-neutral
> Part of speech: Adjective
Making or resulting in zero net emission of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
2006 (UK): Bovvered
> Part of speech: Adjective
Used rhetorically to express indifference to or a lack of concern about something (with allusion to the catchphrase of a character played by British comedian Catherine Tate).
A person whose diet consists only or principally of locally grown or produced food.
2007 (UK): Carbon footprint
> Part of speech: Noun phrase
The environmental impact of a particular individual, community, or organization, or of a specific event, product, etc., measured in terms of the total associated greenhouse gas emissions.
ALSO READ: Popular Slang Words That No One Uses Anymore
> Part of speech: Noun
The practice of making adjustments to a vehicle or using driving techniques that will maximize the vehicle’s fuel economy.
2008 (UK): Credit crunch
> Part of speech: Noun phrase
A severe reduction in lending by banks and other financial institutions, typically as a result of widespread (or anticipated) defaulting on loans, mortgages, etc.
2009 (US): Unfriend
> Part of speech: Verb
To remove (a person) from a list of friends or contacts on a social networking website.
2009 (UK): Simples
> Part of speech: Interjection
Used (usually immediately after a statement giving a solution to a problem) to indicate that something is very simple or straightforward to do, understand, resolve, etc.
2010 (US): Refudiate
> Part of speech: Verb
Used loosely to mean “to reject” [a portmanteau of “repudiate” and “refute”].
ALSO READ: 10 Words That Don’t Mean What You Think They Do
2010 (UK): Big society
> Part of speech: Noun phrase
A political concept whereby a significant amount of responsibility for the running of a society’s services is devolved to local communities and volunteers.
> Part of speech: Noun phrase
The section of society regarded as particularly affected by inflation, wage freezes, and cuts in public spending during a time of economic difficulty, consisting principally of those people on low or middle incomes.
> Part of speech: Noun
A standard format for encoding images as compressed color bitmap graphics files which enables them to be displayed, stored, and transmitted between networks.
2012 (UK): Omnishambles
> Part of speech: Noun
Chiefly in political contexts: a situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged, or is characterized by a series of blunders and miscalculations.
2013: Selfie
> Part of speech: Noun
A photograph that one has taken of oneself, esp. one taken with a smartphone or webcam and shared via social media.
2014: Vape
> Part of speech: Verb
To inhale and exhale the vapour of (a substance) using an electronic cigarette or similar device.
2015: Emoji
> Part of speech: Emoji
2016: Post-truth
> Part of speech: Adjective
Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping political debate or public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.
2017: Youthquake
> Part of speech: Noun
A significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people.
2018: Toxic
> Part of speech: Adjective
[“It is the sheer scope of its application, as found by our research, that made toxic the stand-out choice for the Word of the Year title.”]
2019: Climate emergency
> Part of speech: Noun phrase
A situation in which urgent action is required to reduce or halt climate change and avoid potentially irreversible environmental damage resulting from it.
2020: (none)
> Part of speech: n/a
[“As our Word of the Year process started and this data was opened up, it quickly became apparent that 2020 is not a year that could neatly be accommodated in one single ‘word of the year’.”]
2021: Vax
> Part of speech: Noun and verb