Merriam-Webster selects ‘slop’ as its word of the year

Merriam-Webster Names "Slop" as 2025 Word of the Year

Artificial intelligence has left a significant mark on social media, and this influence has caught the attention of one of the nation’s leading dictionaries. In response to the flood of AI-driven content that has dominated the internet over the last year, Merriam-Webster revealed on Sunday that its chosen word for 2025 is “slop.”

According to the dictionary, “slop” refers to “digital content of poor quality, typically mass-produced through artificial intelligence.”

The dictionary notes that, much like words such as slime, sludge, and muck, “slop” conjures an image of something unpleasant and unappealing. It describes how this kind of content seeps into every corner of the digital world. In today’s climate of AI unease, the term is meant to convey a tone that is more satirical than fearful toward the technology.

Greg Barlow, president of Merriam-Webster, shared with The Associated Press, “It’s a vivid term. It’s tied to the rise of AI, a technology that people find intriguing, irritating, and sometimes even absurd.”

This year, “slop” has become a go-to word for journalists and analysts discussing how platforms like OpenAI’s Sora and Google Gemini’s Veo are reshaping online content. With these advanced AI tools, the internet has seen an explosion of AI-created books, podcasts, music, commercials, and even feature films. A study released in May estimated that nearly three-quarters of all new online material from the previous month involved AI in some capacity.

The proliferation of these technologies has given rise to what some call a “slop economy,” where vast amounts of AI-generated material are used to generate advertising revenue. Critics are concerned that this development is deepening divisions within online communities, splitting users between those who can pay for premium, high-quality content and those left with a steady stream of low-value “slop.”

Beyond media, “slop” has also been applied to AI’s influence in areas like cybersecurity analysis, legal documentation, and academic writing, highlighting just how far-reaching its effects have become.

Technology-related terms have dominated the word of the year selections recently. The Macquarie Dictionary selected “AI slop” as its top word, while Oxford Dictionary went with “ragebait,” and Collins Dictionary chose “vibe coding.”