Entry · catalog no. 0402
rizz
/ rɪz /RIZ
noun · Bronx / Black creators · 2020s
✓ Verified
1.
Romantic charisma — the ability to attract or charm a partner, especially through conversation.
“He got mad rizz — talked his way into her number in two minutes.”
2.
(verb, “rizz up”) To charm or flirt with someone successfully.
“Watch me rizz up the whole section.”
Origin & Attribution
Clipped from charisma. Popularized c. 2021 by Bronx-born Black streamer Kai Cenat — a rare case where the origin is clearly documented. Named Oxford’s Word of the Year in 2023; the through-line to a Black creator stays on the record here.
2021
Coined on Kai Cenat’s streams
2022
Spreads across short-form video
2023
Oxford Word of the Year — origin often omitted
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
The Northeast
Bronx / Black creators · 2020s
Spoken by
Black creators; Bronx roots
$RIZZThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Peaked2 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
95/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
2020
in the culture
Recorded here
2021
point of first record
Mainstream crossover
2022
search interest spikes
Outside acknowledgement
2023
Webster’s / Oxford
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@bxgriot
The Bronx, NY
@phillyanne
Philadelphia, PA
Contribute your pronunciation
Citations & Sources
■
Kai Cenat, livestream archive
video · 2021
■
+ Cite a sourceOxford Languages, Word of the Year 2023
reference · cited