Dictionary roasted over PG-13 definition in Word of the Year poll

Macquarie Dictionary editors selected a short list of new words and invited the public to vote on their favourite emerging terms for their annual Word of the Year poll.

Editors defined 'rawdogging' as, "Colloquial, the act of undertaking a long flight with no electronic entertainment, devices or reading material".

This definition has become popular amid a social media trend where content creators film themselves taking long-haul flights without entertainment.

But the term is commonly used to describe having sex without protection, as Macquarie Dictionary discovered in their X comment section.

"Yeah Mum that's exactly what it means," one commenter replied.

"Unless 'long flight' and 'electronic entertainment' are euphemisms then no, that's not what it means," another said.

Collins Dictionary, by British-American publishing company HarperCollins, also included the term in their annual poll but instead awarded Word of the Year to 'brat' inspired by Charli XCX's irreverent 2024 album.

Macquarie Dictionary's other Word of the Year nominees include sigma, looksmaxxing, brainrot, social battery, rent bidding, kup murri and pig butchering.

A full list of nominees and definitions are on the People's Choice Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year 2024 site.