Dictionary.com’s 2025 Word of the Year has sparked the type of meltdown usually reserved for election results or celebrity divorces. The word—or number, depending on who you ask—is “6 7.” The online reference site called it “meaningless, ubiquitous, and nonsensical,” which feels accurate, though it hasn’t stopped people from arguing over whether it even qualifies as a word.
The term “6 7” (pronounced “six seven”) first started circulating in 2024 TikToks tied to a song called “Doot Doot (6 7)” by rapper Skrilla and videos referencing Charlotte Hornets player LaMelo Ball, who happens to be six foot seven. Since then, it’s spread across social media and into classrooms, where teachers are reportedly banning it for being disruptive.
Dictionary.com’s Word Of The Year Is ‘6 7’—And The Internet Is Having A Full Meltdown Over It
What does it mean? Dictionary.com says that might be the wrong question. Some use it as slang for “so-so,” paired with a shrug-like motion of both hands alternating palms-up. Others treat it as an exclamation, something closer to “meh” or “whatever.” The site described it as “classic brainrot slang.”
It’s nonsensical on purpose and built for endless remixing. Steve Johnson, PhD, Director of Lexicography at Dictionary.com’s parent company, said it’s “part inside joke, part social signal, and part performance,” adding that it spreads “long before anyone agrees on what it actually means.”
That explanation didn’t stop the internet from losing its collective mind. “When did 67 become a word?” one person asked. Another wrote, “Since when is a number a word? God, I hate kids.” Someone else compared the choice to “a man being named woman of the year.” Others called it “the least serious dictionary ever” and declared that society was “regressing.”
Dictionary.com defended its choice, saying the annual pick reflects “words that made an impact on our conversations.” Search interest for “6 7” reportedly increased more than sixfold since June, earning it a spot above other finalists like “aura farming,” “broligarchy,” and “trad wife.”
VICE has covered the ridiculousness of the term before, and this latest controversy only reinforces the divide between generations fluent in meme-speak and those who still expect words to mean something. “6 7” may not fit traditional definitions, but its spread says plenty about how language mutates online.
“6 7” isn’t language evolving, it’s language eroding. Its content pretends to be communication. Every generation invents slang that confuses the “elders,” but has this reached another level?
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