NFT beats cheugy to be Collins Dictionary’s word of the year

The abbreviation of non-fungible token' tops a shortlist also including pingdemic, climate anxiety and metaverse

In a year that has seen the musician Grimes sell a collection of digital artworks for almost $6m (4.4m), and the original photo behind the 2005 Disaster Girl meme go for $473,000 (354,000), Collins Dictionary has made NFT its word of the year.

The abbreviation of non-fungible token has seen a meteoric" rise in usage over the last year, said Collins, up 11,000% in the last year. Any digital creation can become an NFT, with the term referring to a certificate of ownership, registered on a blockchain, or digital ledger of transactions. The most valuable NFT to date is a collage by digital artist Beeple, which sold for 50.3m at Christie's in March.