The 2025 Word of the Year, “vibe coding,” is not just a buzzword but the articulation of a new technological philosophy from one of AI’s leading minds. The term, coined by Andrej Karpathy (formerly of Tesla and a founding engineer at OpenAI), has been crowned by Collins Dictionary, reflecting its rapid adoption and profound implications.
Karpathy introduced “vibe coding” to describe a revolutionary process where AI translates a user’s natural language “vibe” into functional code. He posited it as a future where developers can “forget that the code even exists,” focusing entirely on the creative vision. This concept has clearly resonated, as Collins tracked a “huge increase” in its usage.
The selection of a term from a high-profile OpenAI engineer highlights how AI research labs are now primary sources of linguistic innovation. As Collins’ managing director Alex Beecroft said, the word “perfectly captures how language is evolving alongside technology” and “signals a major shift in software development.”
This optimistic term for human-AI collaboration was chosen over “clanker,” a derogatory term for AI that also made the list. This highlights the public’s conflicting views on the technology Karpathy and his peers are building.
The 2025 list was filled with other tech-centric terms, including “broligarchy” (a name for tech leaders) and “biohacking” (DIY health optimization). It also included social and economic terms like “Henry” (high earner, not rich yet) and “aura farming” (curating a persona).