Dictionary.com declares ‘6-7’ as the Word of the Year. Actual meaning and significance analyzed

6-7 just became Dictionary.com’s 2025 Word of the Year, and the 6-7 meaning sits at the center of the story. The site frames 6-7 as a viral in-joke that jumped from TikTok to classrooms and sports arenas. It is pronounced “six seven,” not “sixty-seven.” The signal works as a shout, a chant or a quick reply. It marks belonging more than it conveys information. The trail runs from Skrilla’s Doot Doot (6 7) into basketball edits and then to a middle-school clip that minted the “67 kid.”

By late October, teachers were logging disruptions, and newsrooms rushed to define it. Dictionary.com argues that the phenomenon itself is the meaning. The pick also reflects how youth memes steer mainstream language in 2025. The announcement was made this week alongside a shortlist that tracked other trends in culture and technology. For readers inquiring about the meaning of 6-7, this guide explains what 6-7 means, its origin and why Dictionary.com has designated it as such.

Why Dictionary.com made 6-7 Word of the Year and what that says about 2025

Dictionary.com announced 6-7 as its 2025 Word of the Year on October 28, citing a dramatic usage surge since June and clear dominance across social platforms and news search trends. The site stresses pronunciation, saying “six seven,” never “sixty-seven”, and points to offshoots such as “six-sendy” and the sibling meme “41.” It also notes that the 67 meaning often functions as a group identity rather than a dictionary definition.

Dictionary.com stated on October 28, 2025,

“It’s meaningless, ubiquitous and nonsensical. In other words, it has all the hallmarks of brainrot. It’s the logical endpoint of being perpetually online, scrolling endlessly, consuming content fed to users by algorithms trained by other algorithms.”

CBS News confirmed the timing and rationale, quoting Dictionary.com’s Steve Johnson on generational impact. As per a CBS News report dated October 29, 2025, Steve Johnson, director of lexicography for the Dictionary Media Group at IXL Learning, said,

“This is really a new generation flexing their linguistic muscles and making a pretty phenomenal impact on the English language.”

The outlet also highlights that 6-7 is an interjection and that the shortlist spanned terms from agentic to overtourism. The bigger read for 2025 is straightforward. Memes with soft or shifting meanings become sticky social tokens. They travel faster than definitions, land in classrooms and challenge how dictionaries track real-time speech.

What 6-7 actually means (and how to pronounce it)

6-7 is a nonsensical, playfully absurd exclamation used as a chant, acknowledgement or reply. There is no fixed semantic content. It is always pronounced “six seven.” Coverage and Dictionary.com both describe it as “brainrot” slang whose point is the joke and the bond.

Teachers and principals reported that the phrase echoed through lessons, with some issuing detentions when students shouted it after any mention of six or seven. That ubiquity shows how 6-7 moved from screens into daily life.

For a quick linguistics frame, Georgetown’s linguistics professor Cynthia Gordon points to social meaning. As per the Georgetown University report dated October 21, 2025, Gordon remarked,

“While it seems to be established that ‘6-7’ doesn’t carry much, or possibly any, informational meaning, it’s clear that it does carry social meaning, which is very important.”

The 6-7 meaning, then, is membership more than message.

From Skrilla to the “6-7 kid”: where it started and how it spread

The phrase traces to Skrilla’s Doot Doot (6 7), which fans paired with basketball visuals. Early edits latched onto players like LaMelo Ball, who is 6-foot-7. From there, Overtime Elite guard Taylen “TK” Kinney amplified the bit across social clips and merch, later spinning up 67 Water as the brand followed him.

As per The Washington Post report dated October 21, 2025, creator Jayden “Sprish” Tatum said,

“It’s really dumb, but it’s really beautiful because it’s dumb.”

The same piece ties the tipping point to a viral courtside moment featuring 12-year-old Maverick Trevillian, quickly dubbed the “67 kid.” Rapper Skrilla himself has kept the meaning loose. As per The Washington Post report dated October 21, 2025, Skrilla stated,

“How they react when I get onstage, when I perform ‘6 7,’ that’s how I know, it’s the energy.”

That ambiguity helped the meme mutate into spinoffs like “41” and cameo inside jokes on shows such as South Park’s Twisted Christian, where the school treats the chant like a contagious fad. In short, 6-7 travelled because it asked almost nothing of users and returned an instant signal of belonging. That made it perfect for TikTok, perfect for school hallways, and, this week, ideal for a Word of the Year pick about how language now moves.

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