“Micro-Retirement” Trend Gains Traction, Recognized by Collins Dictionary

A new approach to work-life balance has been officially recognized by Collins Dictionary in its 2025 Word of the Year list. “Micro-retirement,” the act of taking a deliberate break between periods of employment to pursue personal interests, has entered the lexicon, signaling a major shift in career attitudes.
The inclusion of “micro-retirement” highlights a growing trend of professionals stepping off the corporate ladder for extended periods, rather than waiting for a traditional, age-based retirement. This concept, tracked by the 24-billion-word Collins Corpus, has gained popularity as people seek to avoid burnout, travel, or explore hobbies.
This lifestyle word was joined by “taskmasking,” its workplace antithesis, which means to fake productivity. The presence of both terms suggests a workforce feeling stressed and disillusioned, seeking either to escape the grind (“micro-retirement”) or to simply pretend to participate (“taskmasking”).
These terms, however, were runners-up to the 2025 Word of the Year: “vibe coding.” This AI term, describing the use of natural language to create code, was chosen for its massive spike in usage. Its selection shows that while work culture is in flux, the dominant force changing our language is artificial intelligence.
The list was filled with other “tech-heavy” terms, including “clanker” (an insult for AI) and “broligarchy” (a name for tech leaders). It also featured “Henry” (high earner, not rich yet) and “coolcation” (a cold-climate holiday), painting a full picture of the economic, environmental, and social trends of 2025.