TL;DR
The American Dialect Society selected "slop" as its 2025 Word of the Year, recognizing its role in describing low-quality, mass-produced material — often tied to generative AI. The choice reflects both the term's current prominence and its productivity as a combining form that yields new compounds.
What happened
At its 36th annual words-of-the-year vote on Jan. 9 in New Orleans, the American Dialect Society (ADS) chose slop as the 2025 Word of the Year. More than 300 participants took part in the deliberations, held alongside the Linguistic Society of America’s meeting at the New Orleans Marriott. The ADS recognized slop for widespread use to label low-quality, high-volume content, with the AI context frequently implied; the term had previously appeared on the 2024 ballot as AI slop. ADS leaders Ben Zimmer and Dr. Kelly Elizabeth Wright presided over the session. Wright noted the word’s historical range and its current role as a productive combining form, giving rise to coinages such as sloppunk, slopification, and friend slop. The society emphasized that its Word of the Year category covers words, phrases, compounds and affixes that have become notably prominent, and that the vote — the longest-running of its kind — is independent of commercial interests.
Why it matters
- Signals how everyday language is adapting to describe content linked to generative AI and mass production.
- Highlights how an existing word can shift domains and serve as a productive combining form for new coinages.
- The ADS selection — produced by a long-standing, noncommercial scholarly body — reflects attention from linguists and language professionals.
- Brings visibility to debates about quality, quantity, and value in contemporary content production.
Key facts
- The vote took place Jan. 9 at the New Orleans Marriott during the Linguistic Society of America annual meeting.
- This was the ADS’s 36th annual words-of-the-year vote with more than 300 attendees participating.
- Ben Zimmer and Dr. Kelly Elizabeth Wright presided over the voting session.
- The society selected slop for its use describing low-quality, high-quantity material, often produced by generative AI.
- Slop had been a nominee in the 2024 vote as AI slop, but was chosen in 2025 without necessarily requiring the AI qualifier.
- The term is noted as a productive combining form, spawning compounds such as sloppunk, slopification, and friend slop.
- The ADS defines Word of the Year broadly to include words, phrases, compounds, and affixes that became notably prominent.
- The ADS said its vote is the longest-running word-of-the-year contest and operates without commercial ties.
- A companion vote by the American Name Society selected "No Kings" as Name of the Year for 2025.
What to watch next
- The emergence of additional slop-based compounds and whether examples like sloppunk and slopification gain wider usage (mentioned by ADS leadership).
- not confirmed in the source: whether major dictionaries will add new senses or entries for slop tied to AI-generated content.
- not confirmed in the source: whether the term's usage will influence policy or industry labeling practices around generated content.
Quick glossary
- American Dialect Society (ADS): A scholarly organization of linguists, lexicographers, historians and others that studies varieties of English and conducts an annual Word of the Year vote.
- Word of the Year: A designation highlighting a word, phrase, compound or affix that became notably prominent or culturally salient during a given year.
- Generative AI: Artificial intelligence systems that produce new content — such as text, images, or audio — often by learning patterns from large datasets.
- Combining form: A word element used to form compound words or new coinages, as in slop- appearing in sloppunk or slopification.
Reader FAQ
What does slop mean in this context?
In the ADS vote, slop refers to low-quality, high-volume content, a usage often associated with generative AI.
How was the Word of the Year chosen?
ADS members voted during the society’s annual words-of-the-year session, an event attended by over 300 participants.
Is slop a newly coined word?
No; the society noted that slop is not new but has shifted domains and become productive in forming new compounds.
Who participates in the ADS vote?
Members include linguists, lexicographers, etymologists, grammarians, historians, researchers, writers, editors, students, and independent scholars.
Did any other group name a 2025 winner?
Yes — the American Name Society selected "No Kings" as its 2025 Name of the Year.
2025 Word of the Year Is “Slop” January 9, 2026 New Orleans Marriott–Jan. 9—The American Dialect Society, in its 36th annual words-of-the-year vote, selected slop as the Word of the…
Sources
- American Dialect Society 2025 Word of the Year Is "Slop"
- American Dialect Society
- List of American Dialect Society's Words of the Year
- Category: Words of the Year
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