Two women taking a selfie with the one on the left upstaging the one on the right by pinching her face while smilingImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Mogging is about playfully upstaging someone or something

ByPaul GlynnCulture reporter
  • Published26 minutes ago

"Mogging", a word used playfully to mean outshining, outperforming or upstaging someone or something, has been named as word of the year by the Collins English Dictionary.

A fast-growing slang word among members of Generations Z and Alpha - both online and in everyday conversation - mogging went mainstream in 2026 with a 210% increase in its usage.

Collins' managing director Alex Beecroft said its lexicographers look at "how often words are used" and also "analyse patterns of usage" that reveal the latest linguistic trends.