Dictionary.com named the viral teen slang “6-7” its 2025 Word of the Year on Tuesday, saying searches for the two-digit expression surged more than sixfold beginning in June and that the term captured a cultural moment defined by rapid online spread and generational in-jokes.
The site’s lexicographers said they analyzed headlines, search-engine queries, social media trends, and other data to identify words that shaped conversation this year. “The Word of the Year isn’t just about popular usage; it reveals the stories we tell about ourselves and how we’ve changed over the year,” Dictionary.com said in announcing the choice.
Dictionary.com cautioned that the meaning of “6-7” (often written 6 7, 6-7 or six-seven) remains slippery. The site urged readers to avoid pronouncing it as “sixty-seven.” Some users employ it to mean “so-so” or “maybe this, maybe that,” especially when paired with a signature hand gesture in which both palms face up and move alternately up and down. Others use it as a deliberately meaningless textual sign, a way for young people to signal membership in an online in-group or to frustrate adults. “Don’t worry, because we’re all still trying to figure out exactly what it means,” Dictionary.com said.
Merriam-Webster has described the ‘word’ 6-7 as “a nonsensical expression
The modern spread of the term is traced to a 2024 song, “Doot Doot (6 7),” by rapper Skrilla and to a series of viral TikTok videos. Clips featuring basketball players and a viral clip of a boy, now dubbed the “6-7 Kid,” helped propel the phrase into classrooms and comment sections. Teachers and parents responded in turn with a mix of exasperation and fascination; some teachers banned the expression, while others posted tips online to curb its use.
Merriam-Webster has described 6-7 as “a nonsensical expression used especially by teens and tweens.” Dictionary.com called it “meaningless, ubiquitous, and nonsensical,” adding that those very qualities are part of its power in a media environment shaped by algorithms and quick cultural turnover. The site also noted emerging permutations such as “six-sendy” and “41.”
South Park is now making fun of the viral "6-7" meme… 😭pic.twitter.com/YdU4XWrF9e
— DramaAlert (@DramaAlert) October 15, 2025
The selection of “6-7” follows Dictionary.com’s annual practice of shortlisting words that reflect larger social trends. Among nominees this year were agentic (referencing autonomous AI), aura farming (curating one’s online presence), broligarchy (a critique of a homogenous elite), clanker (a slur for AI), the dynamite emoji repurposed as shorthand for a celebrity couple, Gen Z stare, kiss cam, overtourism, tariff, and tradwife.
The announcement of the expression as the word of the year marks deep social shifts
Language experts say such ephemeral slang often marks deeper social shifts. “A perfectly timed 6-7 signals that you’re part of an in-group,” Dictionary.com said, noting the term’s speed of diffusion as younger generations enter global online conversation.
The announcement underscored how nontraditional items, symbols, numbers, and emojis increasingly function as words in digital speech. Parents, teachers, and platform users have responded in varied ways: some attempt to curb the trend, others monetize or meme it, and some cultural observers treat it as yet another example of what Dictionary.com called “brainrot,” a tongue-in-cheek label for the endless churn of internet culture.
Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year choices often highlight ephemeral moments, but the site said such picks serve as linguistic time capsules documenting how people communicated and what preoccupied them during the year.
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