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Collins English Dictionary Names “Mogging” Word of the Year for 2026
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Collins names mogging Word of the Year 2026. Means outshining or outperforming someone or something.
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Collins crowns Mogging
Collins English Dictionary named “mogging” its Word of the Year for 2026, describing the slang term as a way of outshining or outperforming someone or something. Alex Beecroft, Collins’ managing director, said the lexicographers look at “how often words are used” and also “analyse patterns of usage” that reveal linguistic trends. BBC coverage tied the rise to a “210% increase in its usage” in 2026, while Anadolu Ajansı said the term has increasingly entered mainstream language, particularly among Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
“Collins Dictionary on Tuesday named ‘mogging,’ a slang term for outshining or outperforming someone or something, its Word of the Year for 2026.”
Collins traced “mogging” to “AMOG,” an acronym for “alpha male of the group,” and BBC said the word is often used playfully or ironically to describe someone being upstaged. Collins also put other terms on its 2026 shortlist, including “ghost job,” “friendslop,” and “P(doom),” as Anadolu Ajansı listed them alongside “carspreading” and “firewave.”
From slang to mainstream
Collins managing director Alex Beecroft told BBC that the selection “shows how each generation leaves its mark on language,” and he added, “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 announced the Word of the Year after tracking how often words are used and after “analyse patterns of usage” that reveal linguistic trends, placing “mogging” alongside earlier picks like “permacrisis,” “AI,” and “Brat.” The BBC explained that “mogging” is not to be confused with mugging, and it said the term refers to outshining or dominating someone, most often in looks.
HuffPost UK said the dictionary’s definition describes mogging as “the act of outshining or outperforming someone or something,” and it noted that people can “heightmog” someone or “mog” in a photograph. The Guardian quoted Collins copywriter Rachel Quin describing how “Teenagers mog elite athletes, a new video game mogs an old favourite,” and Quin added, “Basically, if someone or something has made you look a bit rubbish by comparison, you’ve been mogged.”
Other terms and context
Collins’ 2026 shortlist included “ghost job,” a term Euronews described as a position with “no intention” of appointing someone, and BBC said the word is familiar to jobseekers. The Guardian said the shortlist also featured “carspreading,” describing the tendency of motor manufacturers to produce increasingly longer, wider and heavier vehicles, and it said sport utility vehicles made up more than half of new car sales in 2025. The Guardian linked political terminology to “Manchesterism,” describing it as the philosophy associated with prime minister Andy Burnham that focuses on devolving regional power and combining economic growth with social progress.
“‘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.”
Collins’ 2026 shortlist also included “carspreading,” “firewave,” “ghost job,” “friendslop” and “P(doom),” and Collins tracks changes in English through large databases of written and spoken language. Collins chose mogging after observing a “210 per cent increase in usage in 2026,” and the lexicographers at Collins Dictionary monitor the “27-billion-word Collins Corpus” drawn from media sources including social media.