The Cambridge Dictionary has embraced the fast-evolving world of internet slang, adding 6,000 new entries in the past year — many inspired by TikTok trends and Gen Z lingo.
Among the fresh additions are viral buzzwords like “skibidi,” “delulu,” and “tradwife.” While familiar to social media natives, the terms can feel like a foreign language to those outside digital culture.
Take skibidi, for example. Popularised by the bizarre “Skibidi Toilet” YouTube series — where human heads pop out of toilets — the word has morphed into a flexible slang term. Cambridge defines it as one that can mean “cool,” “bad,” or simply act as a nonsense filler in jokes.
Sample sentences provided by the dictionary include the now-iconic Gen Z-style quip: “That wasn’t very skibidi rizz of you.”
Other entries, like “delulu” (short for delusional) — often used to describe unrealistic optimism in dating or lifestyle — reflect how TikTok and meme culture are reshaping modern English.
The updates highlight how social media is bending and reinventing the English language in real time, leaving traditional dictionaries racing to keep up.
