A new travel trend, born from a warming planet, has been officially recognized by Collins Dictionary in its 2025 list of notable words. “Coolcation,” defined as a holiday in a place with a cool climate, has entered the lexicon, reflecting a significant shift in traveler preferences.
The rise of the “coolcation” points to a growing desire to escape the extreme heatwaves that have plagued traditional summer destinations. Instead of beaches in the Mediterranean, travelers are increasingly opting for destinations like Scandinavia, Scotland, or Canada. Its inclusion in the annual list, sourced from a 20-billion-word corpus, confirms it as a widespread and notable trend.
While “coolcation” reflects our changing environment, the 2025 Word of the Year was awarded to a term from the tech world. “Vibe coding,” the act of using AI to generate computer code from natural language, took the top spot. This highlights the dual pressures of 2025: the environmental crisis and the AI revolution.
The list also featured “micro-retirement,” another lifestyle trend described as a break between periods of employment to pursue personal interests. This, combined with “coolcation,” suggests a broader re-evaluation of how we spend our time off, whether it’s for leisure or for a career pause.
Other words on the list reflected anxieties about technology (“clanker”), power (“broligarchy”), and work (“taskmasking”). Social media terms like “aura farming” (looking cool) and “glaze” (excessive praise) also made the cut, painting a comprehensive picture of modern life.
What’s a “Coolcation”? New Travel Trend Enters the Collins Dictionary for 2025
