Am I getting older (don’t answer that) and thus the passage of time feels ever more fleeting, or did 2026 really fly by? November only just started, and already it feels like New Year’s Eve is right around the corner. (It still being warm enough in NYC for me to keep wearing sandals notwithstanding.) Mind you I’m not complaining, just observing. And I’m welcoming one of my favorite features of this period: the onslaught of end of the year listicles. Pantone won’t thrill and/or severely disappoint us with their Color of the Year for another month, but dictionaries like to print the word early. And so I present to you the first 2026 Word of the Year of the season, courtesy of Collins: “Mogging.” Say what now? Supposably, “mogging” is the act of outdoing. As copywriter Rachel Quin put it in Collins’ announcement: “Ever felt like everyone around you is just a little bit taller, shinier and more impressive than you? Congratulations, you’ve been mogged. Mogging … is defined as outperforming or outshining someone or something else, which might involve making them look inferior in terms of appearance, confidence or status – anything, really.” Well… that’s awfully aggressive!
Mogging – meaning to outperform or outshine someone or something – has been named Collins’s word of the year 2026.
Announcing the winner in an article for Collins, the copywriter Rachel Quin said the term describes making someone or something look inferior in terms of appearance, confidence or status.
Believed to originate as a shortening of “Amog” (alpha male of the group), the word had first appeared in bodybuilding culture around 2016 before spreading through online communities, Quin said.
By 2026, the expression had entered everyday slang. “Teenagers mog elite athletes, a new video game mogs an old favourite, and your friend’s sourdough mogs the loaf you spent all weekend proving,” Quin said. “Basically, if someone or something has made you look a bit rubbish by comparison, you’ve been mogged.”
Quin said that much of this year’s shortlisted terms felt like “one big mogging contest”, pointing to trends across transport, politics, climate, employment and culture.
…Entertainment and lifestyle additions include:
Friendslop: A term adopted by gamers to describe low-budget, multiplayer indie titles focused on social fun over high-end graphics.
Fricy: A portmanteau of “fruity” and “spicy”, reflecting a rise in popular food products such as pineapple and mango hot sauces.
Bixie: A hairstyle blending a bob and a pixie cut, recently adopted by figures such as Zendaya, Jessie Buckley, and Helen Mirren;
P(doom): A mathematical shorthand representing the percentage likelihood that artificial intelligence will cause the collapse of human civilisation.“Look across the shortlist and the pattern is hard to miss,” Quin said, noting that while 2026 had been defined by competition and escalation, the lexicon also reflected how society adapted. “If 2026 has taught us anything, it’s that mogging can take many forms, but some resilience – and a little fun – could be the key to winning through.”
The origin of the word stemming from bodybuilding culture somewhat explains the charged, competitive edge layered into the meaning of “mogging.” (Sidenote: I’d neither heard “mogging” nor “AMOG” before now, I hope I’m not the only one.) The trouble is, I just don’t find the sound of the word “mogging” to match the meaning. “Mogging” doesn’t sound all that superior or intimidating, so much as it sounds like the act of mopping a bog. Or affixing new felt and fuzz to a muppet. Or a term for casting a spell conjured up by she-who-shall-not-be-named. It just sounds more quirky Hobbit than cool girl to my ear. As for the other contenders: I don’t know how to react to “Friendslop,” other than to say I’d be deeply offended if someone directed it at me. “Fricy” I find cloyingly annoying — just say fruity and spicy! I don’t understand how a bob and pixie haircut can blend, but I do think “Bixie” should be added to the list of best dog and cat names. And “P(doom),” well, that may end up being the word of the century.
Photos credit: Humphrey M, Svets productions, Ferry Chenille on pexels, Backgrid and Avalon.red
I don’t normally get my panties in a bunch over this kind of thing, but I HATE that mogging has been added to the “dictionary”. It’s such a contemptible manosphere word used to insult people who aren’t complete narcissists. Can’t stand it, or the people who use it.
Basically, if someone or something has made you look a bit rubbish by comparison, you’ve been mogged.”
So William and Kate have been mogged by Harry and Meghan!
The origin story is disappointing! In the UK, cats are known as moggies so I was hoping it was a reference to cats. Because they are definitely more beautiful than the rest of us! But no, it’s some idiotic manosphere thing. Unfortunate..
I hope this stupid word fades away soon. And the manosphere with it.
I first heard mogging in the context of Alysa Liu when she said it was her goal at the Olympics.
I think one thing that gets lost when slang terms cross from right to left is that the leftish usages inevitably are slightly mocking of how the right use them. So Alysa saying her alt girl look is mogging the standard ice Princess vibe is proper left usage.