When ladies are near you, do they twist their hair? Do males find your jokes funny? Have you ever noticed that you have a special talent for striking up conversations? Next, you have Rizz.

Oxford University company (OUP), the second-oldest academic company in the world and the publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary, has selected “rizz” the word of the year. If you’re not acquainted with the term, learn it today.

The term used by Generation Z to refer to “style, charm or attractiveness” or “the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner” has surpassed terms like “prompt” (an instruction given to an artificial intelligence program), “situationship,” and “Swiftie,” which are used to describe casual romantic or sexual relationships.

Rizz may be used as a verb, such as “rizz up,” which implies to entice, seduce, or talk someone up. Rizz is thought to derive from the term “charisma,” according to OUP.

The term was originally used in 2022, and it gained popularity in June of this year when Tom Holland, the actor who plays Spider-Man, said in an interview that he had no rizz at all. I don’t have much rizz. He then clarified that he used the “long game” to win the actor Zendaya, his girlfriend.

The publisher claims that the word’s total usage increased by a factor of around 15 as a result of Holland’s remarks, which gave rise to countless memes. The hashtag “rizz” has received billions of views on TikTok, demonstrating the widespread use of the term nowadays.

The phrase “boomed on social media,” according to OUP, demonstrating how the internet can bring once-outside language mainstream. The statement read, “This is a story as old as language itself, but stories of linguistic expansion and evolution that took years to complete can now be completed in weeks or months.”

The expansion of rizz, according to the article, “speaks to how younger generations create spaces where they own and define the language they use, whether it be online or Linguistic gaps within Generation Z’s opinions and lifestyles also emerge as they grow more influential in society through dating, activism, and other pursuits.

The eight terms on this year’s shortlist were chosen by OUP linguists. Following that, the public was asked to vote on the list in late November, narrowing the field to four contenders, and Oxford lexicographers then made the ultimate selection.

Head-to-head matches between pairs of words or phrases were decided with the assistance of over 30,000 word enthusiasts. They went with “rizz” instead of “beige flag,” which is a personality attribute that suggests a companion or potential spouse is dull.

The terms “heat dome” (a continuous high-pressure weather system over a specific geographic area), “parasocial” (a relationship characterized by the one-sided, unreciprocated intimacy felt by a fan or follower of a well-known figure), and “de-influencing” (the practice of discouraging people from buying particular products or reducing their consumption more generally) were the other terms that were eliminated.

When the public was asked to select the overall winner last year, “goblin mode,” a colloquial phrase for “unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly or greedy” behavior, received an overwhelming 93% of the votes.

Thousands of people debating and discussing language, according to Oxford Languages President Casper Grathwohl, “really highlights the power it has in helping us to understand who we are, and process what’s happening in the world around us.”

Grathwohl continued, “It’s interesting to see a contrasting word like ‘rizz’ come to  the forefront, perhaps speaking to the prevailing mood of 2023, where more of us are opening oneself up after a challenging few years and finding confidence in who we are.” He noted that “goblin mode” struck a chord with so many people following the pandemic.

The Oxford lexicographers’ previous selections for word of the year were “selfie” (2013), “vacax” (2021), and “climate emergency” (2019).

Are these Gen Z slang words familiar to you?

POV, an acronym for “point of view,” describes how someone sees a certain circumstance, either from a position of physicality, an opinion, or an attitude.

Lore referring to past knowledge about an individual, usually unrelated or hidden facts.

Tea: Insider knowledge or gossip; used in expressions like “spill the tea,” meaning to provide juicy details.

hits in a unique way Something “hits different” when it has a distinct feeling to it or speaks to you in a new way.

sly connection a covert encounter between two individuals who are attracted to one another; sometimes used to describe a hookup, but also to indicate a friendship with benefits.

Heather Derived from the Conan Gray song “Heather,” which talks about falling in love with someone who is in love with a lady named Heather, it describes an extremely appealing person that everyone likes.

Select Me, Girl a woman who, in an effort to attract men’s attention, asserts or presents herself as unique from other women.

Slept on To be disregarded, forgotten, or not treated with respect.

Dinner with a girl a low-maintenance method of eating that involves selecting (often insignificant) foods from the refrigerator and plating them in an appealing manner.

Canon occasion a phrase that became popular following the release of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and describes a turning point in a person’s life that cannot be undone.