THE Cambridge Dictionary has added “the ick” to its list of official terms, along with 3,200 new words.
The phrase is defined as “a sudden feeling that you dislike someone or are no longer attracted to someone because of something they do”.
Setting out how it can be used in a sentence, lexicographers said: “I used to like Kevin, but seeing him in that suit gave me the ick.”
The phrase was coined in 90s sitcom Ally McBeal, but “the ick” has how re-emerged thanks to reality TV show Love Island.
Contestant Olivia Attwood said in 2017: “When you’ve seen a boy and got the ick, it doesn’t go.”
Other new entries popularised among Gen Z include “chef’s kiss”, used to describe something deemed perfect.
Video game terms have also crept into the official words list.
“Side quest” is an extra activity in a game, but it has evolved to mean someone leaving a large group on a night out.
Colin McIntosh, from the Cambridge Dictionary, said: “Gaming-inspired words have begun to influence how we talk about our offline lives.”
In 2023, “rizz” was Oxford University Press’s word of the year, meaning “style, charm or attractiveness”.
