Cambridge Dictionary Adds ‘Skibidi’, ‘Delulu’, and ‘Tradwife’ to Its Lexicon
The English language is evolving faster than ever, and the Cambridge Dictionary is keeping pace. Over the past year, the dictionary has added more than 6,000 new words to its online edition, capturing the growing influence of social media and internet culture.
Among the standout entries are skibidi, delulu, and tradwife.
To those less familiar with online slang, some of these phrases may appear puzzling. For example, what does it mean when someone says, “that wasn’t very skibidi rizz of you” or “As Gen Z say, I’ve entered my ‘delulu era’?”
The Cambridge Dictionary explains that skibidi is “a word that can have different meanings such as ‘cool’ or ‘bad,’ or can be used with no real meaning as a joke,” while delulu is a “play on the word delusional, means ‘believing things that are not real or true, usually because you choose to.’”
Skibidi originated from the viral YouTube series Skibidi Toilet, featuring animated, surreal scenes of human heads emerging from toilets.
Delulu began roughly a decade ago as a playful critique of obsessive K-pop fans but has since broadened to signify delusional thinking online.
Its popularity even reached mainstream politics when Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used the phrase “they are delulu with no solulu” in Parliament.
“It’s not every day you get to see words like skibidi and delulu make their way into the Cambridge Dictionary,” said Colin McIntosh, the dictionary’s lexical programme manager.
“We only add words where we think they’ll have staying power. Internet culture is changing the English language and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the Dictionary.”
Other notable additions include tradwife, short for “traditional wife,” describing influencers who celebrate conventional domestic roles, and broligarchy, a combination of bro and oligarchy, referencing tech leaders at political events.
Language isn’t just about new words. Existing terms are evolving too. Snackable, once a descriptor for addictive food, now also refers to online content consumed in small, bite-sized bursts.
Similarly, red flag and green flag are increasingly used to signal undesirable or desirable traits in partners, expanding beyond their literal meanings.
The Cambridge Dictionary’s latest updates underscore how digital trends, social media, and internet culture continue to shape modern English, reflecting the fast-paced evolution of communication in the UK and beyond.
