London: The English language just got 6,000 new additions, with the Cambridge Dictionary officially recognising several words and slang terms made popular by internet culture. Among them are skibidi, tradwife, and delulu, reflecting the influence of social media and modern lifestyle trends on everyday language.

Colin McIntosh, lexical programme manager at Cambridge Dictionary, said the expansion shows how digital culture is reshaping the way English is spoken and written. “Internet culture is changing the English language, and it’s fascinating to observe and capture these changes in the dictionary,” he noted.

What do the new words mean?
Skibidi: A playful, gibberish word from a YouTube animated series. Depending on context, it can mean “cool,” “bad,” or carry no specific meaning, often used humorously.

Tradwife: Short for “traditional wife,” referring to a married woman who embraces traditional homemaking roles like cooking and cleaning, often sharing such content on social media.

Delulu: A slang shortening of “delusional,” meaning someone who believes in things that are unrealistic or untrue, usually by choice.

Mouse jiggler: A device or software that makes it look like someone is working remotely by keeping their computer active, a term born out of the rise in remote working since the pandemic.

Forever chemical: Refers to harmful substances that persist in the environment for long periods, often linked to climate change and pollution concerns.

The Cambridge Dictionary team uses the Cambridge English Corpus, a massive database of over 2 billion written and spoken words, to track how new expressions emerge, how widely they are used, and whether they are likely to last. “We only add words where we think they’ll have staying power,” McIntosh explained, highlighting that the dictionary reflects not just language rules but also cultural shifts.
(With inputs from PTI.)