A term you may never heard of, but very likely sums up your experiences of 2024, has been named the Macquarie Dictionary’s Word of the Year.

“Enshittification”, which apparently describes the gradual decline of a product or service when companies prioritise profit over user experience, was announced Tuesday as Word of the Year by the self-described Australian national dictionary.

Macquarie has been choosing a Word of the Year since 2006, last year opting for “Cossie livs”, a play on “cost of living”.

‘This word captures what many of us feel is happening to the world and to so many aspects of our lives at the moment,” the dictionary’s selection committee said.

Other notable mentions from the committee included the “right to disconnect”, describing the newly-won right for employees to be uncontactable during non-work hours and “rawdogging” – the trend of taking a long flight without electronic entertainment, devices, or reading material.

Shortlisted words also included “brainrot”, a term for low-quality internet content and “sigma”, a person who is self-sufficient and who prefers to be alone.

Macquarie Dictionary managing editor Victoria Morgan said one example of enshittification was the actions of the streaming services.

“All the streaming channels are making you pay more extra to not have ads is the perfect example of enshittification,” Morgan told told Melbourne’s 3AW radio.

“They get the customer base in and everyone is pretty happy but then they [try] to find a quick way to make money,” she said.

Most dictionaries around the world choose a word of the year, usually summing up a term that encapsulates the zeitgeist of its users.

Last week, the Australian National Dictionary Centre announced its word of the year was “Colesworth” – a portmanteau referring to Australia’s supermarket duopoly, Coles and Woolworths.

Online dictionary platform Dictionary.com this week nominated “demure” as its word for 2024, referencing the TikTok meme of  describing a person’s look as “very demure, very mindful”.

“Manifest” a verb meaning to dream or will something into being, was named the Cambridge Dictionary word after a surge in its usage on social media by celebrities.

Earlier this month Collins Dictionary announced “brat” as its 2024 word of the year.

Used by singer Charli XCX as the title of her sixth album, it has been “characterised by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude” and was a co-opted by Kamala Harris supporters during this year’s US election campaign.