By Were Kelly |
Dictionary.com has declared “6-7” as its 2025 Word of the Year, a choice that has both celebrated Generation Alpha and bewildered their elders, underscoring the widening gap in generational language use.
Pronounced “six-seven,” the term was announced on 28 October, beating out contenders like “agentic” and “aura farming.”
The phrase originated from rapper Skrilla’s track Doot Doot (67) and went viral on TikTok during the summer of 2025, prompting a 600 per cent surge in dictionary searches since June. Its meaning is fluid, generally conveying that something is “cool” or “overwhelmingly awesome,” with context determining its nuance.
Supporters hail the selection as an example of language evolving organically. A Dictionary.com lexicographer described it as “a linguistic time capsule of 2025’s digital-native whimsy. It represents how language evolves from the ground up, often in ways that deliberately exclude older generations.” For young users, it functions as a marker of identity. “It’s just how we say something is cool or overwhelming. If you know, you know,” said a 14-year-old TikTok user.
The choice has met with criticism from parents and educators, who argue it undermines linguistic standards. “It feels like nonsense designed to baffle parents,” said a secondary school teacher in London. Critics warn that recognising such slang officially risks diluting the clarity and precision of communication, though proponents frame it as a celebration of the democratic and creative nature of language.
Beyond its lexical curiosity, “6-7” highlights the cultural power of digital platforms and youth culture in shaping language, leaving traditional institutions to play catch-up. As debate rages between linguistic preservation and evolution, the word stands as a symbol of a generation defining itself on its own terms, one enigmatic slang term at a time.
