Collins Names ‘Mogging’ 2026 Word of the Year After 210% Surge

PLEASANTON, LIVERMORE & NATIONAL — Language trends, historic model railroading, and youth music philanthropy shared the cultural spotlight on Tuesday, November 3, as Collins Dictionary named "mogging" its 2026 Word of the Year, Cincinnati Museum Center readied the 80th season of the Duke Energy Holiday Trains, and organizers announced the 2nd (second) annual Park Circle Block Party benefitting Rock N Roll Rescue.

Collins Dictionary Selects "Mogging" as 2026 Word of the Year After 210% Usage Surge

As reported by NBC Bay Area and The Associated Press, Collins Dictionary lexicographers monitoring a 27-billion-word database named "mogging"—a slang term meaning to outshine or upstage someone or something, often used playfully and ironically by Gen Z and Gen Alpha—as the 2026 Word of the Year following a 210% (210 percent) increase in usage in 2026.

"It’s a great example of how Gen Z and Gen Alpha have adopted a word and turned it into humorous slang, making the language their own and 'mogging' the rest of us," said Alex Beecroft, managing director at Collins. Other notable 2026 additions to the dictionary’s list include:

• "P(doom)": An estimation of the probability that artificial intelligence will bring about the collapse of human civilization.
• "Firewaves": A series of urban wildfires occurring in a short space of time.
• "Carspreading": The tendency of automakers to build vehicles that are longer, wider, and heavier.
• "Fricy": Trendy food or beverages that are both fruity and spicy.
• "Ghost jobs": Job listings advertised without any intention of hiring a candidate.
• "Friendslop": Low-budget, independently produced video games played socially among friends.

Duke Energy Holiday Trains Mark 80th Season at Union Terminal from Nov. 13 to Jan. 4

According to Hoodline citing WKRC and Cincinnati Museum Center, Holiday Junction featuring the Duke Energy Holiday Trains will open Friday, November 13, 2026, and run through January 4, 2027, at Union Terminal (1301 Western Avenue), celebrating 80 years (80th season) since the miniature display first debuted in downtown Cincinnati in 1946 (serving as a downtown holiday fixture for more than 70 years).

Included with general admission and free for museum members, the sprawling layout features more than 300 rail cars and 50 locomotives on the museum’s official roster (with wonderfulmuseums.com listing 60 locomotives), alongside the debut of the rail-themed film Train Time in the OMNIMAX Theater, daily visits from Santa beginning November 27 through Christmas Eve, Tower A tours in December, and sign-language interpretation by Cincinnati State’s Interpreter Training Program on Sunday, December 6, from 2 to 5 p.m.

Second Annual Park Circle Block Party Supports Rock N Roll Rescue for Youth Ages 9 to 14

In community arts news reported by Hoodline, Shakedown Jam (with organizer contact Lorrie Griggs) will host the 2nd annual Park Circle Block Party in North Charleston on Saturday, November 14, from 12 p.m. (noon) to 5 p.m. outside Commonhouse Aleworks.

The free festival pairs a "Shakedown Street" artisan marketplace—featuring Bright Star Designs, Cannon Street Apothecary, Brass Earth, Em's Crochet, and King of Pops—with sets by Robert Corbett’s Just Groove (12 to 1 p.m. and 4 to 5 p.m.) and Grateful Dead tribute band The Reckoning (1 to 4 p.m.). Proceeds benefit Rock N Roll Rescue, a Lowcountry nonprofit that partners with the Charleston County School District to provide refurbished and new instruments to children ages 9 to 14, including a September 12, 2025 donation of 6 (six) brand-new instruments valued at $2,845 (a flute, clarinet, tuba, tenor saxophone, and 2 alto saxophones) to Baptist Hill Middle and High School.