Brainrot
Internet content or language that becomes stuck in someone's mind because it is repetitive, absurd, or highly online.
“I have watched so many edits that the brainrot is permanent.”
Brainrot can describe low-value internet content, the feeling that consuming it has taken over your thoughts, or a collection of memes and phrases someone repeats constantly.
The phrase predates internet culture and appears in Henry David Thoreau's 1854 book Walden. Its modern use grew around repetitive, trivial, or highly addictive online content, and Oxford named brain rot its 2024 Word of the Year.
brain rot
The spaced spelling of brainrot, commonly used in dictionaries and formal writing.
brainrotted
A playful description of someone whose thoughts or vocabulary have been overtaken by online memes.
brainrot language
A collection of repetitive or absurd slang terms associated with highly online meme culture.
Is brainrot a real medical condition?
No. Brainrot is informal slang, not a medical diagnosis. It is usually used jokingly to describe the perceived effects of consuming too much trivial or repetitive content.
Is brainrot the content or the effect?
It can mean either. People use brainrot for low-value online content itself and for the feeling that consuming it has affected their thoughts or vocabulary.
Is it spelled brainrot or brain rot?
Both spellings are common. Brain rot is generally the more formal spelling, while brainrot is widespread in casual internet usage.