Every year Lake Superior State university releases a list of words and phrases that have become overused or misused. This annual banished words list started in 1976 as a fun way to say goodbye to words that are played out. For 2025 the word/phrase that was voted the most was 67, a phrase that took over social media and gained popularity from kids and teens. Dictionary.com even picked it as their 2025 word of the year while other dictionaries chose words like “slop” and “ragebait” which have also became increasingly popular this year.
A lot of people especially old ones have no idea what 67 even means. It got its popularity mainly from a TikTok of a little kid shouting it at a basketball game. It’s mostly an inside joke with the younger generation and is usually used with no clear meaning. Most people use it primarily texting but some post videos with no context behind it. Some students like Alana Bobbitt from the University of Michigan admit she enjoys using it even though she doesn’t understand it fully. Others like Jalen Brezzell don’t see the point and avoid saying it at all, “Give it up, it’s over”.
The list also includes other overused words like “cooked”, “demure”, “incentive”, “perfect”, “gift”, “my bad”, and “reach out”. These words and phrases have been around for years and some like “my bad” are still popular with older generations. According to David Travis, the president of the university, social media is the main reason these words spread so quickly and get misused so often.
While some of these words will likely lose popularity within the next few months Travis says phrases like “at the end of the day” will probably stay forever. But “67” he predicts will be gone next year, “I think 6-7 next year will be gone”.
