Merriam-Webster has named “slop” its 2025 Word of the Year, a term its editors say captures the growing frustration — and fascination — with low-quality digital content generated in massive quantities by artificial intelligence.
Merriam-Webster defines slop as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” Editors said the word summed up a year dominated by an endless stream of AI-generated material filling social media feeds, websites and inboxes.
The flood of slop in 2025 included absurd videos, off-kilter advertising images, cheesy propaganda, fake news that looks convincing, junky AI-written books, “workslop” reports that waste coworkers’ time — and, notably, large numbers of talking cats. While many people found the content irritating, others continued to consume it in large quantities.
“AI Slop is Everywhere,” The Wall Street Journal warned, while acknowledging the appeal of some of the viral content. “AI Slop Has Turned Social Media Into an Antisocial Wasteland,” CNET reported.
The word itself carries a long and unflattering history. Like slime, sludge and muck, slop has what Merriam-Webster describes as “the wet sound of something you don’t want to touch.” The term originally referred to soft mud in the 1700s, later evolving to mean food waste — as in “pig slop” — before taking on its modern sense of rubbish or something of little value.
In 2025, amid widespread discussion of artificial intelligence and its potential risks, Merriam-Webster editors said slop struck a tone that was less fearful and more mocking. The word, they noted, reflects a cultural moment in which people are pushing back against AI hype by labeling much of its output as disposable.
The dictionary’s editors also pointed to other words that saw notable interest in 2025, including “gerrymander,” “touch grass,” and “performative,” reflecting continued attention to politics, online culture and social behavior.
Merriam-Webster selects its Word of the Year based on data from its website, including significant spikes in lookups and sustained public interest, as well as the word’s cultural relevance. The editors emphasized that the choice of slop reflects how language continues to adapt to rapidly changing technology — and how speakers respond when innovation overwhelms quality.
