Dictionary.com's 'maxxing' pick

Pop culture · Heat 3.5 / 10 · 2 shows · 7m airtime

Dictionary.com named 'maxxing' its 2026 Word of the Year on October 27, 2026, citing forms like looksmaxxing and sleepmaxxing. The suffix dates to min-maxing in 1970s tabletop role-playing games and reached the mainstream on TikTok around 2022 and 2023. Reporting since the announcement puts looksmaxxing usage up more than 1,000% since January. The discussion weighs whether the pick reflects a broader cultural drive toward optimization or is mostly a marketing event.

How 2 podcasts covered it

1. Global News Podcast, 2026-10-27 (27:46 to 29:57)
   Traces maxxing to tabletop min-maxing
   Covers Dictionary.com's pick and hands the etymology to a linguist, who traces 'maxxing' to 1970s tabletop min-maxing and TikTok around 2022-23, and calls the award itself mostly a marketing event.
   New angle: 'Maxxing' dates to 1970s tabletop min-maxing and hit the mainstream on TikTok around 2022-23.
2. Morning Brew Daily, 2026-10-27 (19:17 to 24:03)
   Walks through the maxxing pick and finalists
   Walks through Dictionary.com's pick of 'maxxing' as 2026 word of the year, the looksmaxxing usage surge behind it, the other finalists, and the word's lineage from game theory and D&D min-maxing, plus Sprout Social's 'lore' and Kalshi odds on Merriam-Webster.
   New angle: Dictionary.com named 'maxxing' its 2026 word of the year, with looksmaxxing usage up more than 1,000% since January.