As technology tightens its grip on society, so too does our language evolve to describe those in power. “Broligarchy,” a new nickname for the globe’s most powerful tech leaders, has earned a place on Collins Dictionary’s 2025 word of the year list, signaling growing public scrutiny of the “tech bro” elite.
The term, a portmanteau of “bro” and “oligarchy,” gained significant traction after the high-profile attendance of several tech billionaires at Donald Trump’s inauguration. It captures a specific cultural sentiment: that a small, male-dominated group of tech executives wields an influence comparable to that of traditional oligarchs, shaping politics, media, and finance.
The inclusion of “broligarchy” complements the other tech-heavy words on the 2025 list. The official winner was “vibe coding,” a term for AI-assisted programming that represents the products these tech leaders are creating. Another contender, “clanker,” a derogatory term for AI, reflects the public’s distrust of these same products.
Lexicographers at Collins monitor a 24-billion-word corpus of language from media and social media, and the rise of “broligarchy” points to a significant trend in public discourse. It’s a word of disapproval, lumping the owners of the biggest tech companies into a single, powerful, and often-criticized group.
This year’s list shows a language grappling with a new class structure. We are not just talking about technology; we are actively coining words to describe the people who build it, the power they hold (“broligarchy”), and the societal changes they are forcing upon us.
