From AI chatbots to lifestyle trends, the concept of life optimization has come to the fore in 2026. That’s why Dictionary.com chose “maxxing,” a reflection of our increasingly online society, as its final word of the year.
“Maxxing (sometimes -maxxing) is short for “maximize,” Dictionary.com explains. “This trendy term can be used alone or added to the end of any word to indicate that you are doing something to the fullest or optimizing it as much as possible. »
The word was chosen following an analysis of search data, social media trends and current events “to reflect a society that is deeply online and focused on optimization in all its forms,” Dictionary.com explains.
“Maxxing” quickly expanded into the cultural lexicons of Generation Z and Generation Alpha, and now functions as both a noun, verb, adjective, and adverb. Improve your workout routine? “Gymmaxxing.” Your self-care practices? “Healthmaxxing”, an umbrella term that covers many subgenres, including “proteinmaxxing” and “fibermaxxing”.
“Maxxing really stood out this year because not only was he everywhere, in every type of article, but he crossed a lot of different areas,” said Steve Johnson, director of lexicography at Dictionary Media Group, which runs Dictionary.com.
At work, people were talking about “tokenmaxxing,” which means relying more and more on AI. In wellness circles, there was “sleepmaxxing.” Even recreation got the “maxxing” treatment, with “cosymaxxing,” as did politics, when the federal government used “homelandmaxxing” in some of its messaging.
“It’s not something we often get with a lot of slang terms,” Johnson told CBS News.
How Dictionary.com Chooses Word of the Year
Johnson maintains a list of words to watch for throughout the year, some of which have been carried over from previous years and tracked for increasing usage. To choose an annual winner, Dictionary lexicographers look at how often a word appears in news articles, on social media, and in online searches. They also evaluate the cultural meaning of a word when selecting it.
“We not only look at the data behind word usage, but we also look to see what captures something distinctive that describes the year,” Johnson said.
The latest choice of words marks a departure from last year’s winner, “67”, a term that, despite its virality, has left many people confused as to its meaning. “Maxxing” had the opposite effect, Johnson said.
“‘Maxxing’ is so accessible,” he said. “People understand it because it’s related to something they inherently understand.”
What is “maxxing”?
The word itself is not new. “Maxing out” a credit card or going 100 miles an hour on the highway are well-established customs that go back decades. But the newer, optimization-focused definition comes from game theory, Johnson said. In the 1940s, academics used the term “mini-max” to describe a strategy to minimize their maximum possible losses, an idea that later spread to contemporary games like Dungeons & Dragons. In this context, “min-maxing” referred to strengthening a character’s strengths in a particular area, to the point that their weaknesses no longer mattered.
According to Johnson, words like “looksmaxxing” gave the term its extra “x” and, ultimately, made it the trend it has become today. He said “maxxing” had also started to stand out on its own this year, in phrases such as “What are you maxxing?” or “Everyone maximizes something.”
“Looksmaxxing” remains by far the most popular version of the word. Johnson said its usage has increased more than 1,000% since the start of the year in media outlets analyzed by Dictionary.com, while “tokenmaxxing” has also grown with the proliferation of AI tools.
What “maxxing” says about us
Johnson said the word reflects a pressure many people feel, especially online, to constantly do or be: more.
“Whether it’s at work and in your career, whether it’s at school, in many aspects of your life, just being more is something that is a pressure that a lot of people can feel,” he said.
The pressure has also produced its own pushback, as playful versions of the word like “normalmaxxing” reject the desire to optimize everything while using the same language.
“One of my favorite ‘maxxings’ is ‘ rienmaxxing ‘, which is just completely paradoxical, isn’t it? » Johnson said. “This is optimization without doing anything, which also requires a lot of effort.”
That flexibility is part of why the word has spread so widely, he said, adding, “It resonates with people.”
Finalists for Word of the Year 2026
Dictionary.com took inspiration from different areas of internet culture, politics, technology and media to come up with a list of finalists. Here are the others that were taken into account:
- Affordability: the quality of being cheap, which is an issue at the heart of American life and, now, the upcoming midterm elections, as people face rising costs for housing, groceries, child care and more.
- Data center: a building or facility used to process, store, or transmit large amounts of computer data, which is appearing more and more often in the United States with the rise of artificial intelligence.
- Unc: Short for “uncle,” Generation Z and Generation Alpha popularized this humorous and slightly derogatory slang term for an older person who is uncool, trying too hard, or just doesn’t get it.
- Odyssey: a long and eventful journey, like that of Homer’s protagonist in his epic poem of the same name, adapted this summer into an ensemble blockbuster by director Christopher Nolan.
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