Gen Z slang 'mogging', born in the manosphere, is crowned Collins word of the year, beating Burnham's 'Manchesterism'
'Mogging' saw a 210 per cent surge in usage in 2026 before Collins lexicographers crowned it word of the year, tracing its roots to bodybuilding and incel communities.
Collins Dictionary, the British publisher that monitors a 27-billion-word language database, named 'mogging' its 2026 Word of the Year after the slang term surged 210 per cent in usage across the year. Managing director Alex Beecroft said the choice shows 'how each generation leaves its mark on language', with Gen Z and Gen Alpha driving it into everyday conversation. The word beat a shortlist that also included 'ghost jobs', 'carspreading' and 'P(doom)' — an estimate of the probability AI will collapse civilisation.
The term traces back to 'AMOG' — Alpha Male of the Group — emerging in bodybuilding forums around 2016 before spreading through incel and manosphere spaces.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, now a GB News presenter, called the win 'mognificent' and predicted his own coined term would be word of the year in 2027.
Collins lexicographers noted that its sinister origins had given way to playful use — 'your friend's sourdough mogs the loaf you spent all weekend proving.'
