'Brat' is Collins Dictionary's word of the year

Collins Dictionary has declared “brat” – the album title that became a summer-living ideal – its 2024 word of the year, The Washington Post reported.

The word, used by singer Charli XCX as the title of her sixth studio album , has been defined as “characterized by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude.”

Collins lexicographers said on Friday that in the phrase “brat summer,” it became “one of the most talked about words of 2024.”

“More than a hugely successful album, ‘brat’ is a cultural phenomenon that has resonated with people globally, and ‘brat summer’ established itself as an aesthetic and a way of life,” the dictionary said.

Collins experts monitor their 20-billion-word database to create the annual list of new and notable words that reflect the ever-evolving English language.

Other new and notable words for 2024 include “era,” in the sense of “a period of one’s life or career that is of a distinctive character.” It’s inspired by Taylor Swift’s world-conquering Eras tour.

Other notable neologisms among the dictionary’s word-of-the-year finalists include the growing movement against mass tourism, “anti-tourism” ; “delulu,” meaning utterly mistaken or unrealistic in one’s ideas or expectations; and “rawdogging,” taking a long-haul flight with no devices or distractions.

Collin’s 2023 word of the year was “AI,” short for artificial intelligence.