Brat summer is now endless. After the title of Charli XCX's sixth album became an inescapable meme this year, Collins Dictionary has named 'brat' its word of the year for 2024.
The dictionary announced the designation on Friday (Nov. 1), noting that “brat” refers to someone who is “characterized by a confident, independent and hedonistic attitude.” According to the full entry, “Bratrecently defined in 2024 as “characterized by a self-confident, independent and hedonistic attitude”, was named Word of the Year 2024 by Collins. Inspired by the Charli XCX album, brat has become one of the most talked about words of 2024. More than just a hugely successful album, brat it's a cultural phenomenon that resonates with people worldwide and 'summer' has established itself as an aesthetic and a way of life.”
The singer's own definition of “brat” is “that girl who's a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes,” which, when combined with the album's signature green square background and the blurry Arial font created an aesthetic that ruled the summer. Charli's also described the aesthetic as, “me, my flaws, my turmoil, my ego all rolled into one” and “this girl who is a bit messy and he likes to party and maybe say some dumb things sometimes. Which feels like herself but maybe also has a breakdown. But kind of like, the parties through it, it's very honest, very raw. A bit volatile. Like, he does stupid things. But he's a fool. You are a fool. This is bad.”
Some of the must-have items for a girly girl this summer, according to Charli, include: “a pack of cigarettes, a Bic lighter and a strappy white braless top.” The atmosphere got so heated, in fact, that Vice President Kamala Harris began using it to boost her presidential campaign after Charlie declared that “Kamala is a brat” in July.
The experts at Collins comb through the database of 20 billion words to create the annual list of new and notable words that represent the evolution of the English language. Other words shortlisted for this year's WOTY included: brainrot, era (defined as “a period in someone's life or career of special character” in honor of Taylor Swift's world tour), as well as looksmaxxing, rawdogging, against tourism, delusion, romanticism, supermajority and stupidity.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/charli-xcx-brat-dictionary-2024-word-of-year-1235817483/
