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Popularised by Gen Z and Gen Alpha, the Collins English Dictionary has crowned the term ‘mogging’ as word of the year. But what does it really mean?
In the simplest terms, ‘mogging’ means to outshine someone or something. It’s an odd word, similar to ‘mugging’ and reminiscent of Judith Kerr’s beloved character ‘Mog the forgetful cat’ (if you know you know).
But this unassuming phrase has won the hearts of Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who co-opted it en masse this year. Mogging has now officially been crowned ‘word of the year’ by Collins English Dictionary. So, whether you’ve welcomed it into your regular vocabulary or not, mogging seems here to stay (at least until the end of 2026).
Copywriter Rachel Quin, who announced the winner in an article for Collins, said the term describes making someone or something look inferior in terms of appearance, confidence or status. But like most Gen Z turns of phrase, ‘mogging’ has been loosely adapted. You might’ve seen it pasted across social media underneath particularly flattering or stylised celebrity selfies, or used to describe candid images where an individual looks particularly poised (think angular jawlines and defined cheekbones).
It’s the kind of word that would’ve been used to describe Jeremy Meeks’ viral mugshot back in 2014. But where did mogging, a word that is arguably far less attractive than its subject matter, actually come from?
The word is believed to have originated as a shortening of ‘AMOG’, an acronym for ‘alpha male of the group’. It first appeared in bodybuilding culture around 2016, before finding its way into the darker corners of the internet. More specifically, the so-called manosphere.
In these spaces, mogging is about establishing yourself as the most physically desirable man in the room. If you could make another man look inferior by comparison, you were asserting your own social and sexual dominance. It was a competition in which appearance became a measure of status, and women (unsurprisingly) were objectified as the reward.
Over time, the term became closely associated with ‘looksmaxxing’, another internet-born phenomenon that encourages men to maximise their physical attractiveness. While some of its more innocuous practices involve skincare, exercise and grooming, others venture into considerably more extreme territory.
Online personalities like Braden Eric Peters (known by his followers as Clavicular) have promoted everything from restrictive diets to cosmetic procedures and ‘bone smashing’ – the dangerous practice of repeatedly hitting facial bones in the hope of changing their shape. The underlying premise is that attractiveness can be optimised, ranked and, ultimately, used to secure a more successful life.
It’s unsurprising that mogging has proved such a natural fit for social media, given the etymology. The Guardian reported earlier this year that the term had become increasingly common among younger users, even finding its way into everyday conversations. Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu even went viral for using it to describe her competitive strategy.
What began as a way of reinforcing a rigid hierarchy of male attractiveness has become something of a joke among the very generation that has helped popularise it. It’s most commonly used ironically, a kind of self-aware dig at the absurdity of optimisation culture rather than a serious declaration of superiority.
But the language of online appearance culture is still heavily influenced by the idea that people can be ranked according to their physical attributes. The proliferation of facial analysis videos, transformation content, and appearance-based rating systems suggests that the internet’s obsession with categorising attractiveness is showing little sign of slowing down. Mogging has just given it a more convenient name.
