I’m a fan of words. I learned how to read at 3 years old, and since then I’ve always held a passion for reading and writing. The word of the year is something I look forward to each December.
Dictionary.com is one of the most famous websites to check the word of the year, with popular slang terms and current events influencing the decision. With 2020’s suitably being pandemic, 2022’s being woman and yes, 2024’s being demure, words of the year are a fun way to see our year encapsulated in less than five syllables.
However, I have an issue with this year’s word. Instead of choosing one of the runner ups, such as tradwife or tariff, the dictionary I once trusted says the word that perfectly captures 2025 is not just one, but two: “six-seven”.
In case you haven’t stepped foot near a Gen-Alpha in the past year, six-seven is a slang term that genuinely means nothing at all. Popularized by rapper Skrilla and NBA player LaMelo Ball, six-seven can be used in almost any context.
“People say it when another person says a number, but it can mean other things, like being cool, or even just a response to a question. I love it, it’s the best meme ever,” said seventh grader Dillon Hedge, AKA my Gen-Alpha slang translator and brother..
With the digital age making some words universal, it makes sense that more slang terms are being popularized into everyday vocabulary and dictionaries. However, my main gripe with six-seven being chosen for our word of the year is that it’s not one. Last time I checked, six and seven were numbers.
I hate to be a buzzkill, but I am just genuinely in shock. With all the important words of this year, everything that planet Earth has seen during “the big ‘25”, we choose six-seven as what represents us?
“As a Gen-Z, I find it impressive that a few videos and a song managed to start an international movement across generations. It is a prime example of how technology has shortened the gap between individuals of different regions. Everyone’s taking part in six-seven,” sophomore Olivia Chung said.
Living in the same home as someone who spouts off six-seven every other sentence, I suppose I’m just six-sevened out. In a way, I can see (through a very warped lens) how this word can encapsulate our world this year. We’ve been through a lot in the 2020’s. It has not been easy, so at this point, what else is there to do but laugh? Be happy. Use silly slang words. Six-seven your way through life.
The use of the term became so popular that on Halloween, people carved pumpkins with “6-7” carved into them. (Photo/Getty Images)
