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The Collins Dictionary, which has been in existence since the year 1824, has announced the 2024 Word of the Year is ‘Brat‘ after Charli XCX declaring ‘Brat Summer’ created a cultural phenomenon. Their official definition is ‘characterized by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude.”
Good luck explaining this one to your elderly relatives around the dinner table at Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks…
In their Word of the Year announcement, the Collins Dictionary spent nearly 700 words explaining what the word ‘Brat’ means in the context of how it became popular this past Summer due in large part to Charli XCX’s album titled ‘Brat’ and Charli later declaring ‘Kamala is Brat’ which confused millions of people who then attempted to Google ‘what is brat?’ only to grow further from the truth.
The Collins Dictionary Word of the Year announcement for 2024 does explain what ‘brat’ means but it also predicates everything based on their statement that “Brat is different things to different people” which opens up the word for an entire world of interpretation, and thus brings us full circle to how so many people have been confused by what the heck ‘brat’ meant this past Summer. They write:
Lacking in confidence? Feeling a bit sub-par? I have just the mindset for you, and it’s encapsulated in a single word: brat. Brat is different things to different people; a spiky attitude, a garish aesthetic, even a campaign slogan (the phrase “Kamala IS Brat” proved snappy enough to go politically viral, even as its meaning remained a little hard to pin down). And though it started life as the title of an album by pop singer Charli XCX, it has clearly captured something of the spirit of the age, one that goes beyond a potentially short-lived but exuberant “brat summer”. Channelling self-acceptance as well as rebelliousness, it’s a fitting word for 2024, a year when hedonism and anxiety have combined to form an intoxicating brew.
They listed a few words that were runner-ups in the 2024 Word of the Year consideration. Those words include ‘delulu,’ ‘brainrot,’ ‘romantasy,’ ‘rawdogging,’ ‘looksmaxxing,’ and ‘anti-tourism.’ If you couldn’t define all of those for a vocabulary test right now then don’t fret, you’re not alone, and chances are your brain is functioning better than those of us (like me) who are terminally online and are forced to learn these terms as they start to go viral.
To put a bow on this, I figured I would ask ChatGPT, Google, and Meta’s AI all the same question: ‘what is brat?’
ChatGPT failed the assignment and doesn’t understand the nuance of ‘is’ here. Their response was “In everyday language, a “brat” often describes someone, typically a child, who is perceived as spoiled, mischievous, or behaving in an entitled or disruptive manner.”
Likewise, Google failed with the response “a child, typically a badly behaved one.” But Google DID at least surface a link to Charli XCX’s wikipedia entry on the righthand side of the search bar.
Meta’s AI at least spit back multiple definitions for me. Meta AI replied “Brat” can have different meanings depending on the context: “1. Sausage: A brat (short for bratwurst) is a type of German sausage. 1. Misbehaved child: A brat can also refer to a spoiled or poorly behaved child. 1. Affectionate term: In some regions, especially the Midwest, “brat” is used as an affectionate term for a friend or loved one.”
If I specified to ‘What does Charli XCX’s ‘brat’ mean?’ with Meta AI they nail it. Their response was “1. Empowerment: Unapologetic attitude and self-expression. Unconventional style: Bold fashion and visuals. Charli XCX’s “Brat” era embodies a fearless, unbridled spirit.”
Does any of this matter? Absolutely not. We’re talking about defining the word ‘brat here as the Word of the Year. I’m just trying to make sure you are all armed with the necessary tools to explain this around the dinner table over the holidays…
Personally, I’d like to go back to 2018 when the Word of the Year was ‘Milkshake Duck,’ a phrase that’s still commonly used today. It is hard to imagine that ‘brat’ will still be in the rotation six years from now.