Dictionary

looksmaxxer en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈlʊksˌmæksə(ɹ)/
• (US) audio

Etymology

From looksmaxx + -er.

Meanings

1. (Internet) A person who looksmaxxes.
   • The mostly male, mostly heterosexual looksmaxxers — those who have come to dominate social media with their brainrotted vernacular and impenetrably captioned video clips — seem to have dispensed with relationships entirely. 2026 March 3, Christine Emba, “The Reason Gen Z Isn’t Dating”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • Promoted by looksmaxxers as a face hack, mewing has gone mainstream, with more than 1bn mentions on TikTok. 2024 February 15, Simon Usborne, “From bone smashing to chin extensions: how ‘looksmaxxing’ is reshaping young men’s faces”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 23 Aug 2024:
   • An army of girls and gays—not to mention admiring looksmaxxers—would kill to be where I am now, next to Piker, as he pants in a pair of neon shorts with black Calvin Klein boxers poking out and sunlight glinting off the sweat beaded on his chest hairs. 2025 August 13, Kieran Press-Reynolds, “Hasan Piker Thinks America Might Be Cooked”, in GQ, archived from the original on 15 Aug 2025:
   • Looksmaxxing attaches "scores" to aspects of male appearance, focusing particularly on jawline, muscularity and skin. Looksmaxxers aim to increase their scores via "softmaxxing" (such as using a gua sha, burning more calories than consumed, or moisturising) and "hardmaxxing" (such as steroid use, hair transplants, or cosmetic surgery). 2024 March 26, Riley Farrell, “Inside looksmaxxing, the extreme cosmetic social media trend”, in BBC, archived from the original on 23 Apr 2024:
   • Many of Mr. Latham’s followers are so-called Looksmaxxers, part of a booming digital community of young men seeking to enhance their physical attractiveness. Its suffix comes from the world of role-playing games, in which to “max” means to fully develop a single character trait, like strength or wisdom. […] And a frequently alluded-to technique called “bonesmashing,” in which a Looksmaxxer breaks his own jaw or cheek bones in order to make them grow back stronger, is regarded by many Looksmaxxers as a joke. 2023 November 6, Joseph Bernstein, “Young Men Seek Answers to an Age-Old Question: How to Be Hot”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 04 Jan 2024:

Forms