English, often termed the ‘world language’ or ‘Lingua Franca’, has never failed to surprise us. With new words introduced every year and old words making a comeback, the language keeps evolving alongside society to describe new contexts. 2025, meanwhile, was power-packed with a plethora of events, from religious gatherings and elections to sporting wins and military stand-offs, among others. All these events culminated in some lesser-known words coming to the forefront and becoming common parlance during conversations, finding themselves among the ten most Googled word meanings by Indians, according to the Google Trends Year in Review list.
Here are the words.
Ceasefire
Amidst rising global tensions, the ceasefire took centre stage. The word is simple, combining ‘cease’ and ‘fire’, meaning the cessation of fire or halting a war or conflict temporarily. It was originally written as two words and later evolved into a compound form. But Operation Sindoor and US President Donald Trump’s tall claim of having mediated peace talks between India and Pakistan further increased the search volume.
Mock Drill
Arising from conflicts along the Indo-Pak border in early 2025, this term made headlines after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) ordered nationwide civil defence exercises (Operation Abhyaas), including air-raid sirens, evacuations, and blackout rehearsals. In a nutshell, it is a simulation of a real-life situation that usually involves a threat. Schools usually practise mock fire and earthquake drills in case of an actual occurrence.
Pookie
Starting with TikTok creators Jett and Campbell Puckett, the word was popularised in India after creator Prayag Mishra used ‘Pookie’ as a playful way to refer to himself and his audience. At its core, "Pookie" is a word you would use to refer to your loved ones (or things). Even the Delhi Police took to the trend to alert two-wheeler riders about road safety and accidents. The Indian state of Kerala has been roped into multiple memes over the name of a town being ‘Pookiparambu’. The word Pookie can be traced back to 20th-century Germany (as a term used for children) and Garfield comics (as the name of his teddy bear).
Mayday
Originating from a radio officer in London, Frederick Stanley Mockford, the term comes from the French word m’aidez, which translates to “help me.” It is now an international call for help. The pilots of London-bound Air India flight AI-171 - which crashed 36 seconds after take-off from Ahmedabad - sent one last radio message to Air Traffic Control at 1.39 pm, on June 12, 2025. "Mayday, Mayday..." were the final words of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal as Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed into a college hostel, claiming 260 lives in all.
5201314
Who thought a series of random digits would make for a meaningful sentence? 5201314 is exactly that. After being featured on multiple reels, it was found to be the Chinese romance code for “I love you for a lifetime”. It stemmed from the similarity in phonetics with the numbers 520 and 1314. Chinese numerology has always had immense cultural significance, also popularising 888 (triple fortune) and 168 (fortune for financial success).
Stampede
2025 shook India, quite literally. Several stampede tragedies occurred across the nation during religious gatherings (Maha Kumbh Mela), victory celebrations (the RCB win), and political rallies. These were found to be due to administrative lapses, overcrowding, and poor infrastructure. Typically, it is a panicked rush of a mass of people in one direction, which can prove to be fatal in some cases.
Ee Sala Cup Namde
A phrase from Kannada, it became the Royal Challengers Bengaluru‘s (RCB) war cry for years. It translates to “This year, the cup is ours.” RCB emerged victorious after an 18-year wait—which the IPL rightly called ‘a journey of relief and disbelief’—following which the phrase was changed to “Ee Sala Cup Namdu”, a confident assertion of triumph.
Nonce
A word with duality in its meaning is certainly confusing, making it worthy of its place on the most Googled list. It developed from the phrase “for then anes,” which meant “for this one time” or “for a particular occasion.” Over time, spoken mishearings caused the phrase to be re-segmented, eventually settling as “for the nonce.” While it means ‘temporarily’ or ‘for the current purpose’ in its traditional sense, the word appears in cryptography, where it denotes a value used once, and in British slang as a derogatory term used to describe a sexual offender, specifically a paedophile.
Latent
Imagine improving your vocabulary through a comedy show! That is exactly what happened as Ranveer Allahbadia appeared on the YouTube show India’s Got Latent, hosted by Samay Raina. The show is a parody of India’s Got Talent that humorously critiques contestants’ ‘hidden’ or raw talents. It sparked multiple controversies questioning whether the show was authentic, alongside concerns regarding obscenity on such wide platforms. In essence, "latent" refers to something that exists but remains hidden, inactive, or undeveloped.
Incel
A term coined by a Canadian university student known as Alana, surrounding gender and sexuality, "incel" is short for "involuntary celibate". It typically describes men who feel unable to find romantic or sexual partners despite wanting one. It takes roots in ‘Black-Pill’ philosophy, which cites the "80/20 rule" (the idea that women desire only the top 20% of men) and claims that attraction is fixed at birth. Women, in this context, are often termed ‘femoids’—characterised as dehumanised bodies void of feelings—and are blamed for men’s romantic failures. In India, such individuals are often stereotypically called ‘Currycels’.
