Dictionary.com’s word of the year is one that you’re tired of seeing everywhere on the internet

Dictionary.com has announced its 2026 Word of the Year, a term that has become ubiquitous across the internet. The word, "maxxing," refers to going all in on something and striving to make it the best it can be. It often follows another word to indicate the goal, such as looksmaxxing for physical appearance, tokenmaxxing for AI tool usage, and nonnamaxxing for habits borrowed from an Italian grandmother.

The term gained popularity due to its use in Reddit threads and message boards, with interest surging this year after media coverage. Interestingly, people now use maxxing without attaching it to anything, simply stating "I am maxxing." This flexibility showcases the word's adaptability. The roots of maxxing trace back to "max" and "maximize," with gamers adopting min-maxing to optimize a character's strengths.

Dictionary.com attributes the term's surge to its increasing visibility on social media platforms and new variations popping up monthly. Despite some users employing maxxing sincerely, others use it to critique hustle culture. The phrase has become synonymous with 2026's mindset. Additionally, advancements in text-to-speech technology have become more accessible, with open-source apps like Ollama allowing local AI model usage on various operating systems.

However, concerns about AI conversation privacy persist, as demonstrated by Georgia Tech's forensic tool, ORISA, which can recover deleted AI chatbot conversations. Meanwhile, Apple's recent invitation to a "Pro and Tell" event hints at potential changes in their stance on touchscreen laptops, following years of dismissing the concept.