This Dictionary.com page shows the newest word of the year "6-7" on a computer screen, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
Chile! The kids, from first graders to teens, have been keeping “6 7” in rotation since the summertime! Now, Dictionary.com is giving the viral phrase a longer moment in the spotlight. The site named the word–that’s notreally a word- ‘word of the year.’ So, what does that mean? And what’s the tea, the inside joke, the social media scoop on 6-7? Here’s a lil’ breakdown by AP.
According to AP, the phrase seems to trace back to rapper Skrilla’s song from 2024 called ‘Doot Doot (6-7).’ That song started appearing in TikTok videos with basketball players, including LaMelo Ball who stands 6-foot-7. Then a boy, now known as ‘The 6-7 Kid,’ shouted the ubiquitous phrase while another kid next to him juggled his hands in a video that went viral this year. That’s all it took.
Since then, parents and teachers have created their own videos trying to explain the sensation. Some offer tips on how to stop their kids from repeating it all day long. Others suggest embracing it even making 6 7 Halloween costumes so it will become uncool.
Teachers have banned it. Influencers and child psychologists have tried to make sense of it. It’s even spilled over into the NFL as a way to celebrate big plays.
They don’t know. We don’t know. You don’t know. The answer behind the meaning is that no one knows. The meaning of 6-7 changes, and sometimes it depends on who’s on the receiving end of it. And because it’s a phrase kids say, how to write is still up for debate. Which is correct: the numbers 6 7, with and without a dash or the words six seven?
According to Dictionary.com, the phrase could mean “so-so,” or “maybe this, maybe that.” But that’s when combined with the juggling hands gesture.
“It’s meaningless, ubiquitous, and nonsensical. In other words, it has all the hallmarks of brainrot,” Dictionary.com said. “Still, it remains meaningful to the people who use it because of the connection it fosters.”
Meanwhile, Merriam-Webster calls 6 7 a “a nonsensical expression used especially by teens and tweens.” Some simply use it to frustrate adults when being questioned.
Dictionary.com picks its annual word based on social trends and events, so it’s like a historical record of the popping language of the time. The site scoured search engines, headlines and social media trends in making its choice. Online searches for “6-7” took off dramatically over the summer, it said, and haven’t slowed. Searches have grown by six times since June.
“The Word of the Year isn’t just about popular usage; it reveals the stories we tell about ourselves and how we’ve changed over the year,” the site said.
But like parents, teachers, and probably some of y’all roomies, the website is stuck on what it means, too. “Don’t worry, because we’re all still trying to figure out exactly what it means,” the site said in its announcement last week.
Associated Press writer John Seewer contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.
