-maxxing

What does -maxxing mean?

-Maxxing (sometimes spelled -maxing) describes the practice of optimizing a specific aspect of one's life, often to an extreme degree. Although it was originally associated with words concerned with increasing one's appeal or health (such sleepmaxxing), -maxxing can now be applied in virtually any area someone might obsessively improve.

Examples of -maxxing

Happy hour-maxxing: An Old Port bar crawl that gets you more for less
—Portland Press-Herald, 27 Jan. 2025

Risky ‘fertility-maxxing’ trend sparks health warning as extreme raw diets surge
—7news.com.au, 20 Nov. 2025

The suffix has amusingly spread throughout social media, describing the totalizing attention toward something. Examples include looksmaxxing, statusmaxxing, vaxmaxxing, and my personal favorite, Gadaffi-maxxing.
—_lessfoolish.substack.com, 14 Oct. 2023

Where does -maxxing come from?

-Maxxing comes from gaming slang max, a shortening of maximize. Its use gained traction in online communities in the mid-2010s (especially those composed mostly of young men), where it was used in words such as looksmaxxing (methods of increasing one's romantic appeal and physical appearance).

How is -maxxing used?

While -maxxing originated in niche online communities (such as the manosphere), it has since spread across mainstream social media; it is now used humorously or ironically in a variety of settings. -Maxxing can be attached to virtually anything to suggest a fervent dedication to getting the most out of something. Use of the term today often carries a self-aware, tongue-in-cheek quality, acknowledging the absurdity of optimizing certain aspects of one’s life.