It was crowned word of the year 2024 – and we have pop singer Charli XCX to thank for it

Forget “brat summer” or “brat fall” – it’s the year of the “brat” period.

This title has been made official as the Collins Dictionary crowned “brat” – related to chaotic behavior – word of the year, with a nod to Charli XCX’s acid-green record.

“Inspired by the Charli XCX album, ‘brat’ has become one of the most talked about words of 2024,” the company said in a statement. “More than just a wildly successful album, ‘brat’ is a cultural phenomenon that has resonated with people around the world and established ‘brat wine’ as an aesthetic and a way of life.”

Previously defined as someone—usually a child—who is unruly, spoiled, or annoying, the meaning of “brat” has taken on a new, more favorable definition, “characterized by a confident, independent attitude and hedonistic.”

Charli XCX, who just finished her Sweat Tour with Troye Sivan, has previously described the essence of “brat” as someone who “is a little bit messy and likes to party, and maybe do stupid things sometimes, that feels like , but then there’s also a breakdown, but a kind of party through it, it’s very honest, very open, very volatile.”

The word “” and the accompanying album released in June that was followed by deluxe discs and remixes – inspired social media trends, from the viral “Apple” dance to “brain wine”, a legion of Halloween costumes and a campaign revamp by Vice President Kamala Harris.

The dictionary company said the buzzy term “has clearly captured something of the zeitgeist”, calling it “appropriate” for 2024, “a year when hedonism and anxiety have combined to form an intoxicating drink”.

Collins Dictionary, according to the BBC, looks at buzzing cultural trends to decide on the word of the year, last year coming down to “AI”. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the word of the year was “lockdown”.

Runners-up for this year’s word include “brainrot,” defined as “the inability to think clearly” due to “excessive consumption of low-quality content online,” and “era,” a nod to Taylor Swift referring to a special “period”. in one’s life.”

Gen Z slang like “lookmaxxing”, “rawdogging” and “yapping” also made the shortlist, as did “delulu” and “romantasy”.