Revealed: The 10 most searched SLANG words in Britain this year – so do you know what they mean?

Are you busy with the kids, or are you starting to show your age?

The answer may lie in how many of these baffling slang words you know the meaning of.

Experts at Unscramblerer.com have analyzed Google search data for 2024 to reveal the most searched for slang words in Britain.

‘Gaslighting’ – a form of manipulation that makes you doubt your memories and feelings – tops the list, with a whopping 170,000 searches.

Meanwhile, Brits have also turned to Google for other confusing words, including ‘skibidi’, ‘pookie’ and ‘hawk tua’.

‘The English language is constantly changing. New slang words are created every year,” says a spokesperson for Unscramblerer.com.

“Many slang words come from trending topics and viral videos on social media.

“However, few survive long enough to be added to the dictionary and remain in daily use.”

Are you busy with the kids, or are you starting to show your age? The answer may lie in how many of these baffling slang words you know the meaning of

In the study, the team used Google Trends to discover the most popular slang terms, in addition to Ahrefs to find the number of searches.

“The most popular slang terms in Britain can be discovered in Google Trends using the keyword ‘meaning’,” Unscramblerer.com explains.

‘People will hear or read slang terms and search for the meaning of the term (e.g. ‘understated meaning’).

‘Ahrefs shows many variants of meaning searches such as ‘slang’ or ‘trend’ (e.g. ‘understated slang’) and similar keyword combinations (e.g. ‘what does understated mean’).

‘We added up 150 search variations of popular slang terms.’

The analysis found that ‘gaslighting’ was the most searched slang word (170,000 searches), followed by ‘skibidi’ (125,000 searches).

This word is derived from the YouTube animated series Skibidi Toilet and is used in games to describe someone who is bad or evil.

‘Pookie’ – a word used to express endearment and affection – comes in third with 47,000 searches, followed by ‘hawk tuah’ (40,000 searches).

TikTok user Jools Lebron made a series of viral videos using the phrase “very understated.” This trend gave the word a playful slang meaning. She uses it to assess appropriate makeup and fashion choices in different environments

“Hawk tuah” is a catchphrase that Haliey Welch coined during a viral street interview in June 2024.

In the video, Welch stated that her signature move for driving a man “crazy” in bed was to give him “that hawk-tuah and spit on that thang.”

‘Sigma’ – an independent person, often described as a ‘lone wolf’ – is fifth on the list (37,000 searches).

This is followed by ‘SMH’ (shaking head), which was searched 31,000 times.

The “very understated, very conscious” TikTok trend saw 26,000 people search for “understated,” while 25,000 searches were for “rizz” – short for “charisma,” used to describe charm.

‘Dei’ (diversity, equality, inclusivity) ranked ninth (17,000 searches), while ‘aura’ rounded out the top 10, having been searched 13,000 times.

An ‘aura’ is used to describe the vibe someone radiates, with ‘aura points’ making you cooler.

If you’re not Gen-Alpha, you might feel embarrassed about incorporating these slang words into your vocabulary.

However, Unscramblerer.com encourages everyone to participate.

“Slang words are a normal and fun evolution of language,” the spokesperson added.

“We encourage everyone to learn new words and surprise their children by using them.”