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If you have a teenager or have been on TikTok lately, chances are you've come across the slang term 67 and quite possibly been left thinking, what the...? Well, you're likely to be hearing the phrase a lot more as 67, which is pronounced as six-seven, has just been announced as Dictionary.com's Word Of The Year. Searches for 67 searches have increased more than sixfold since June, and the phrase has special meaning. So, what is it then? Here's what we know... Where does the phrase come from? Parenting website Rollercoaster.ie did some digging and found that 6-7's origins are in the 2024 song Doot Doot by Skrilla, where he mentions the number 67. It gained momentum after being used as the soundtrack to many popular sports-themed TikTok videos, the associated hand movements came later, having been popularised by a content creator and basketball player named Taylen Kinney. @natashabedingfield I saw you all liked this part of DOOT DOOT so I managed to get the recording straight from the mixing desk, here you go!! 🔥NEW VOCAL STIM OFFICIAL AUDIO JUST DROPPED 6 7🔥 @Skrilla ♬ Six Seveeeeeeen Skrilla ft. Natasha Bedingfield - Natasha Bedingfield The phrase grew even more legs with the release of the mega viral ’67 Kid’ video, who took part in the trend from the sidelines of a basketball game. Now, kids use any scenario as an excuse to say the famous number, from asking what page they’re reading in school to what height someone is, the order number for their food, and someone’s age. What does 67 mean? Here's where opinions differ. Some people think 67 means ‘so-so’ or 'maybe this, maybe that', especially when paired with the hand gesture of moving your palm-up hands up and down. Others think 67 has more meaning than simply being a viral response to a question, however, and that it's a sign of being part of a community. Steve Johnson, director of lexicography for the Dictionary Media Group at IXL Learning, told the Independent: ‘It’s part inside joke, part social signal and part performance. ‘When people say it, they’re not just repeating a meme; they’re shouting a feeling. It’s one of the first Words of the Year that works as an interjection – a burst of energy that spreads and connects people long before anyone agrees on what it actually means.’ Why is 67 so popular? View this post on Instagram Trends come and go, and parents are constantly trying to keep up with the ever-changing slang said by the next generation, but what is it about 67 that has such a hold on kids? Parenting expert, author, and content creator Dr Becky, who has over 3.4m followers online, says while it might feel meaningless, it’s not the best course of action to shut it down completely at home. ‘I think the narrative out there is that it is just meaningless, and it’s so stupid’, Dr Becky said, adding: ‘I think it’s harmful, because I think it misses something important.’ She continued: ‘Sure, 67 is meaningless in content, but it’s not meaningless in feeling. Think about when you were a kid. What’s more powerful than feeling like you belong? ‘Imagine being in class and a couple of kids are laughing when the teacher says, OK, do problems 6 and 7, and they go, 67, and now all of a sudden, you have a chance to say, 67, and maybe you’re not even friends with these kids, but in these moments, right in that second, you feel like you belong.’ How was 67 chosen as the Word Of The Year? Dictionary.com's Word Of The Year is always a word or term that 'captures pivotal moments in language and culture.' The site explains that the 'words serve as a linguistic time capsule' and reflect 'global events that defined the year.' Other potential words in the running to be Word Of The Year in 2025 included tradwife, aura farming, broligarchy, clanker, kiss cam (thanks Coldplay), and the dynamite emoji/TNT/Taylor ’n’ Travis. Last year's Word Of The Year was 'demure' while the Cambridge Dictionary's Word of the Year for 2024 was 'manifesting'.
