Aura
what it means
Aura is scored: doing something impressive is "+1000 aura", embarrassing yourself is "-500 aura". The numbers are arbitrary, which is the joke.
Someone's presence or coolness, treated as a points system that can be gained or lost.
the origin story
Emerged on TikTok and Twitter in 2024 as a points-based way of rating cool behaviour, building on the older sense of personal energy.
"Aura farming" — deliberately cultivating presence through calculated posts or gestures — became the dominant extension, and was widely shortlisted in 2025 word-of-the-year coverage after the viral Indonesian "boat kid" dance clip.
in the wild
He caught the glass before it hit the floor without looking.
+2000 aura.
Waved at someone who was waving at the person behind me.
-10000 aura. Devastating.
how to use it
- Joking about cool or embarrassing moments with a score
- Captioning clips of impressive or awkward behaviour
- Talking about someone's presence
- About someone's appearance rather than their behaviour
- In professional writing
- Where the points system needs explaining to land
related terms
receipts
Community feedback
keep scrolling
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