Dictionary.com Names "Maxxing" Its 2026 Word of the Year

Dictionary.com has chosen "maxxing" as its 2026 Word of the Year, the online dictionary announced on 26 October. The word is slang short for maximising. According to the dictionary, it can be used on its own or added to the end of any word to mean doing something to the fullest, or optimising it as much as possible.

Dictionary.com gives examples including "proteinmaxxing", "fibermaxxing", "sleepmaxxing" and "looksmaxxing". It also defines "tokenmaxxing", which joins "token", a unit of text processed or generated by artificial intelligence, with "maxxing". The dictionary's slang entry for the word is dated 3 September 2026, and it gives the pronunciation as maks-ing.

The dictionary found that digital media used "maxxing" nearly 19 times more in August 2026 than its 2025 monthly average. CBS News reported that the word rose quickly through the slang of Gen Z and Gen Alpha, and that it works as a noun, a verb, an adjective and an adverb at once.

Dictionary.com picks one Word of the Year annually, based on high search trends and how well a word describes that year. Steve Johnson is director of lexicography for the Dictionary Media Group. Other words the dictionary considered for 2026 were "affordability", "data centre", "odyssey" and "unc", a shortened form of "uncle" used as slang.

The dictionary's previous choices were "67" last year and "demure" two years earlier.