'Mogging' is Collins Dictionary's 2026 word of the year. Here's what it means
Here's something to add to your vocabulary: mogging.
Mogging—a "fast-growing slang word" among Gen Z and Gen Alpha—has been dubbed 2026's word of the year by Collins Dictionary.
Collins defines mogging as "outperforming or outshining someone or something else, which might involve making them look inferior in terms of appearance, confidence, or status."
Toward the end of the 28th episode of the Generations podcast, Gen Z host and food content creator Abi Marquez mentioned "mogging" as her learning for the week.
To illustrate it, she used "mogging" in a sentence.
"For example, intrams tapos merong isa doong ngayon lang sumali. Tapos nadaigan niya pa kayong lahat. He mogged you all!" she said.
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Watch Marquez break down the Gen Z and Gen Alpha slang and show you how to use it in the latest episode of Generations below.
Apparently, the word has been around since 2016, but in a more specific context. Per Collins, "mogging" is "believed to be a shortening of AMOG" or the "alpha male of the group."
Bodybuilders used the noun "amog" to describe "the most physically dominant man in the gym," according to the dictionary.
Eventually, "amog" became a verb and, in 2026, is used by everyone, not just muscle-bound jocks.
"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," it said.
It's the word you use when someone makes you or what you do look and feel inferior, or vice versa.
"Mogging" emerged the winner in a shortlist made up of words that are mostly "bigger, hotter, and more dramatic than whatever came before," wrote Collins. It included "carspreading," "firewave," "hydration break," and "P(doom)," among others.
"Carspreading," which is a play on the word "manspreading," refers to how car manufacturers build vehicles that are bigger and heavier than previous models.
"Firewave" tackles climate change, and refers to multiple wildfires starting within a short period.
"Hydration break" also brings to mind the planet's rising temperatures. The phrase has been used by athletes for years when they take a short pause in training or during a game to drink fluids.
Among several other word-of-the-year contenders, "P(doom)" might describe the world's current circumstances. According to Collins, it borrows "the symbol P (=probability) from maths to express, as a percentage, how likely it is—or someone thinks it is—that artificial intelligence will bring about the collapse of human civilization."
As always, new words in the dictionary perfectly capture the signs of the times.
