“Maxxing is shortcut for maximizing.” It’s Dictionary.com’s 2026 Word of the Year. It works as a noun, verb, adjective or adverb. What? You are not using it in your everyday speech (yet)?
It’s OK. You have 2 months to update your 2026 vocabulary.
In case you are curious, here are some competitors for this year’s “word of the year”: affordability, data center, odyssey, and “Unc” — abbreviation for “uncle,” with Gen Z and Gen Alpha poking “fun” with ageist stereotyping of older individuals who are judged “uncool,” trying too hard, or just not “getting it.”
According to the director of lexicography for Dictionary Media Group, Steve Johnson, “Maxxing….crossed a lot of different domains…we not only look at the data behind the word usage, but we also are really looking to see what’s capturing something distinctive that describes the year.” Are you upping your sleep habits or “sleepmaxxing”? Have you finally kept one of your New Year’s Resolutions and now are “gymmaxxing”? What about your leisure time or “cozymaxxing”? Even the government is in on “maxxing” snacking, as in some messages for “homelandmaxxing.”
Emily Mae Czachor, Reporter and News Editor at CBSNews.com, writes that the word has roots, as in “maxing out” one’s credit card. Johnson focuses on the optimization definition as stemming from game theory; he references Dungeons & Dragons’ “min-maxing,” or the shoring up of a character’s strengths in one area to cover for weaknesses. Is this what politicians attempt to pull off?
Do you favor “maxxing” on election campaign ads? This election cycle has seen “maxxing” of money spent on candidates’ brand (often including trash talking an opponent). According to AI Mode, midterm elections in 2026 broke all records for money spent on total political advertising. Estimates are projected to reach a “maxxing” amount of $11.6 billion. This does not seem like national “optimization” when people cannot afford to fill their gas tanks at the pump. Imagine what those billions might achieve in the education of our nation’s youth. And let’s shed some light on our planet’s climate crisis with a few billions.
Johnson reports, “This trendy term can be used on its own or added to the end of any word to convey you’re doing something to the fullest or optimizing it as much as possible.”
If all of this leaves you out of the trendy loop, consider “normalmaxxing!” This allows you to be up to date with Dictionary.com, but to reject pressure to optimize everything. Or consider “nothingmaxxing.” A YouTube feature attracting millions of viewers offers “taking boring breaks” by filming a guy staring at a blank wall for 10 minutes. Gen Z followers then filmed themselves doing nothing. This digital-break phenomenon likely will garner some researcher’s interest!
I just hope turned-off voters stop staring at digital screens or blank walls long enough for “maxxing” voter turnout in every election cycle.
Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz
546. What are you “maxxing” in your life?
547. How might you spend billions of dollars if you had access?
