Collins Dictionary has named “mogging” as its word of the year for 2026. The slang word means to outshine someone, or come off better than them.
Dictionary experts said young people mostly use it in a playful, jokey way when someone gets upstaged. Online, it’s often used to say someone looks better than you. Use of the word went up by 210 percent this year, which means it was used about three times as often as before.
Collins managing director Alex Beecroft said the word shows how “each generation leaves its mark on language”. He said Gen Z and Gen Alpha (today’s young adults, teenagers and school kids) had taken the word and turned it into funny slang.
Collins picks its words by keeping an eye on a giant collection of 27 billion words, gathered from places like social media.
Other new words on this year’s list include “fricy”, which describes food or drinks that are both fruity and spicy, and “friendslop”, a type of cheap, independently made video game that friends play together. “Carspreading” also made the list. It describes cars being built longer, wider and heavier.
So if someone says you’ve been “mogged”, don’t worry. It’s usually just a joke.
Te Reo Māori
Ko “mogging” te kupu o te tau
Kua whakaingoatia e Collins Dictionary te kupu “mogging” hei kupu o te tau mō 2026. He kupu tārekareka (slang) tēnei, ko tōna tikanga, ko te whiti ake i tētahi atu, ko te eke ake rānei i runga i a ia.
I kī ngā tohunga papakupu, ko te nuinga o te wā ka whakamahia e te rangatahi hei kōrero tākaro, hei kōrero whakakatakata, ina whiti ake tētahi i tētahi atu. I te ipurangi, he maha ngā wā ka whakamahia hei kī he pai ake te āhua o tētahi i a koe. I piki te whakamahinga o te kupu mā te 210 ōrau i tēnei tau, arā, tata ki te toru whakareatanga te maha o te whakamahinga i tō mua.
I kī te kaiwhakahaere matua o Collins, a Alex Beecroft, e whakaatu ana te kupu nei “ka waiho e ia whakatupuranga tōna tohu ki te reo”. I kī ia, kua tangohia e Gen Z me Gen Alpha (arā, ngā pakeke rangatahi, ngā taiohi me ngā tamariki kura o nāianei) te kupu, ā, kua hurihia hei kupu tārekareka whakakatakata.
Ka kōwhiri a Collins i āna kupu mā te aroturuki i tētahi kohinga nui rawa atu o ngā kupu e 27 piriona, i kohia mai i ngā wāhi pērā i te pāpāho pāpori.
Ko ētahi atu kupu hou kei te rārangi o tēnei tau ko “fricy”, e whakaahua ana i te kai, i te inu rānei he rongo hua rākau, he wera hoki, me “friendslop”, he momo kēmu ataata iti te utu, nā ngā kaihanga motuhake i hanga, ka tākarohia e ngā hoa. Kei te rārangi anō a “carspreading”. E whakaahua ana i te hanga motokā kia roa ake, kia whānui ake, kia taumaha ake.
Nō reira, mēnā ka kī mai tētahi kua “mogged” koe, kaua e māharahara. He kōrero katakata noa iho te nuinga o te wā.
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