"Goblin mode" beats "Metaverse" to become the Oxford Dictionary's representative word for 2022.

The top three representative words of the 2022 Oxford Dictionary have been announced, with "Goblin mode" overwhelmingly receiving 93% of the votes for its unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, sloppy, or greedy behavior, securing the second place against "Metaverse."

Goblin mode: Goblin mode, similar to the lying flat mode

Goblin mode, directly translated as "lying flat mode" in Chinese, was one of the three candidate words of the year selected by the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary. This term ultimately received 318,956 votes, accounting for 93% of the total votes, overwhelmingly selected as the word of the year.

Although this term first appeared on Twitter in 2009, it gained widespread usage in February 2022 as many countries relaxed lockdown restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading people to venture out more frequently. The term conveys the idea of rejecting a return to "normal life," resisting the increasingly unattainable aesthetic standards on social media, or in simpler terms in Chinese – directly lying flat!

In April, Musk staged a Twitter adventure: buying 9% of a company's stock, securing a seat on the board, and subsequently announcing giving it up. At that time, he posted an emoji on Twitter: "Your Honor, my client is in goblin mode." He later deleted it.

Metaverse ranks second

This year's second-place word is Metaverse, garnering 14,484 votes.

The producers of the Oxford English Dictionary stated that the usage of Metaverse, which was only used in professional contexts until last year, has quadrupled compared to the previous year. While this growth can be partly attributed to the rebranding of the social media conglomerate Facebook in October 2021, discussions about the concept of the Metaverse, its usage, and what it signifies for the future have been widely debated. Commonly associated terms include web3, virtual, crypto, build, vision, and NFT.

As the counterpart to "goblin mode," "Metaverse" received support from the crypto community and publishers. With more voices joining the conversation, debates on the sustainability and feasibility of the Metaverse continue, and the opportunities for using this term are steadily increasing.

The third-place word, gaining popularity due to the Ukraine-Russia war, is #IStandWith, receiving 8,639 votes.