From AI chatbots to lifestyle trends, the concept of optimizing one’s life came sharply into focus in 2026. That’s why Dictionary.com picked “maxxing,” a reflection of our increasingly online society, as its latest Word of the Year.
“Maxxing (sometimes -maxxing) is short for ‘maximizing,'” says Dictionary.com. “This trendy term can be used on its own or added to the end of any word to convey you’re doing something to the fullest or optimizing it as much as possible.”
The word was chosen following an analysis of search data, social media trends and news stories “to capture a society that’s deeply online and focused on optimization in all forms,” Dictionary.com says.
“Maxxing” rose through the cultural lexicons of Gen Z and Gen Alpha quickly, and now works as a noun, verb, adjective and adverb all at once. Leveling up your workout routine? “Gymmaxxing.” Your personal care practices? “Healthmaxxing,” an umbrella term that covers numerous subgenres, including “proteinmaxxing” and “fibermaxxing.”
“Maxxing really stood out this year because not only was it everywhere, in all types of articles, but it crossed a lot of different domains,” said Steve Johnson, the director of lexicography for Dictionary Media Group, which runs Dictionary.com.
At work, people talked about “tokenmaxxing,” meaning leaning ever harder on AI. In wellness circles, there was “sleepmaxxing.” Even leisure received the “maxxing” treatment, with “cozymaxxing,” as did politics, when the federal government used “homelandmaxxing” in some of its messaging.
“That’s not something that we often get with a lot of slang terms,” Johnson told CBS News.
How Dictionary.com picks a Word of the Year
Johnson keeps a running list of words to watch throughout the year, some of which have been rolled over from years prior and tracked for growing usage. To choose an annual winner, Dictionary’s lexicographers look at how often a word appears in news articles, on social media and in online searches. They also weigh a word’s cultural significance during selection.
“We not only look at the data behind the word usage, but we also are really looking to see what’s capturing something distinctive that describes the year,” Johnson said.
The latest word choice marks a turn from last year’s winner, “67,” a term that, despite its virality, left many bewildered over its meaning. “Maxxing” has had the opposite effect, Johnson said.
“‘Maxxing’ is so accessible,” he said. “People do understand it because it’s tied to something that people instrinsically get.”
What is “maxxing”?
The word itself isn’t new. “Maxing out” a credit card, or 100 miles an hour on the highway, are well-established uses that go back decades. But the newer, optimization-focused definition comes from game theory, Johnson said. In the 1940s, academics used “mini-max” to describe a strategy for minimizing their maximum possible losses, an idea that later moved into contemporary games like Dungeons & Dragons. In that context, “min-maxing” referred to building up a character’s strengths in one particular area, to the point that its weaknesses no longer mattered.
According to Johnson, words like “looksmaxxing” gave the term its extra “x” and, ultimately, turned it into the trend it has become today. He said “maxxing” started standing out on its own, too, this year, in phrases like, “What are you maxxing?” or “Everyone’s maxxing something.”
“Looksmaxxing” remains the most popular version of the word by far. Johnson said its use rose more than 1,000% since the start of the year in the media that Dictionary.com analyzed, while “tokenmaxxing” also grew with the proliferation of AI tools.
What “maxxing” says about us
Johnson said the word captures a pressure many people feel, especially online, to constantly do, or be, more.
“Whether it’s at work and your career, whether it’s in school, in so many aspects of your life, just kind of being more is something that is a pressure that I think a lot of people can feel,” he said.
The pressure has also produced its own pushback, as playful versions of the word like “normalmaxxing” reject the drive to optimize everything while still using the same language.
“One of my favorite ‘maxxings’ is ‘nothingmaxxing,’ which is just completely paradoxical, right?” Johnson said. “It’s going all in an optimizing doing nothing, which also requires a lot of effort.”
The flexibility helps explain why the word spread so widely, he said, adding: “It resonates with people.”
2026 Word of the Year finalists
Dictionary.com pulled from different corners of internet culture, politics, technology and media to compile a list of finalists. Here are the others that were considered:
- Affordability: the quality of being inexpensive, which is an issue at the center of American life and, now, the upcoming midterm elections, as people face increasing costs of housing, groceries, childcare and more.
- Data center: a building or facility used for processing, storing or transmitting large amounts of computer data, which are cropping up more often around the U.S. with the rise of artificial intelligence.
- Unc: short for “uncle,” Gen Z and Gen Alpha popularized this humorous and lightly pejorative slang term for an older person who’s uncool, trying too hard, or just doesn’t get it.
- Odyssey: a long and eventful journey, such as that of Homer’s protagonist in his epic poem of the same name, which this summer was adapted into an ensemble blockbuster by director Christopher Nolan. (CBS News)
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