Brat chosen as Collins Dictionary word of the year

Forget Brat summer, it's Brat all year round

Ever since the Essex songstress released the album of the summer, brat has been here, there and everywhere.

The neon green album took over pop culture, with tracks such as 'Guess', 'Von Dutch' and '360' earworming themselves in the brains of many.

Brat finally peaked at number one on the charts on October 18 thanks to the release of the remix album, Brat And It's Completely Different But Also Still Brat.

Charli XCX herself described Brat as being about the girl that "has a breakdown, but kind of like parties through it", and who is "a little bit volatile" but is honest and blunt.

She said someone who was brat could have "a pack of cigs, a Bic lighter and a strappy white top with no bra".

The rise of the phenomenon came in contrast with many other social media trends, such as the 'clean girl' aesthetic.

In honour of this year's brat movement, Collins has added another definition to the word as being “characterised by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude”.

Previously, the word was defined as “someone, especially a child”, who “behaves badly or annoys you”.

“‘Brat’ has become one of the most talked about words of 2024,” Collins said, adding that it “resonated with people globally and ‘brat summer’ established itself as an aesthetic and a way of life”.

Collins has also named 'Era' as one of its top 10 words of the year, thanks to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.

They added to the definition that it could mean "a period of one's life or career that is of a distinctive character".

Other words to make it into the top 10 include 'delulu' and 'rawdogging'.