British dictionary Collins names its word of the year for 2026

Mogging

The British Collins Dictionary has named «mogging» its Word of the Year for 2026. The slang term, popular among younger generations, is gaining traction on social media. It generally describes a situation in which someone outshines another person in terms of appearance, confidence or status.

Put simply, if you seem less impressive next to someone else, you’ve been «mogged». The term can be used, for example, to describe someone who stands out from the crowd with their personal style, or a person who performs a particular task so exceptionally well that everyone else is left in their shadow. Today, the expression is used mostly in a humorous and ironic way.

Interestingly, the term originally had a very different meaning. It derives from the abbreviation AMOG («alpha male of the group»). Around 2016, it began appearing in bodybuilding communities, where it was used to describe the strongest and most physically imposing man in the gym. Over time, the term evolved into a verb and spread across online communities associated with the so-called manosphere. It was only later that it moved beyond these circles and became part of everyday internet slang.

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