Dictionary.com has selected "maxxing" as its Word of the Year, highlighting a widespread cultural push to optimize everyday habits and experiences.
Derived from the word "maximizing," maxxing functions as both a standalone term and a suffix added to various activities to indicate doing something to the fullest extent. According to Dictionary.com, digital media usage of the term surged significantly by August compared to the previous year's monthly average.
Steve Johnson, director of lexicography for the Dictionary Media Group, noted that the term reflects a societal preoccupation with getting the most out of everything, with people setting and sharing different goals.
Linguist Vanessa Croft observes that digital media makes language move at warp speed, and noted that while she and her secondary-school aged students are still using maxxing, they are now doing so almost ironically as the term spreads across wider demographics.
