What does cyberbully mean?
A cyberbully is someone who uses digital tools — social media platforms, messaging apps, email, or gaming chat — to intimidate, threaten, embarrass, or otherwise harm another person, typically in a sustained or repeated way. The term can also function as a verb describing that behaviour: to cyberbully someone is to harass them electronically. Unlike face-to-face bullying, cyberbullying can follow its target around the clock, spread rapidly to wide audiences, and be carried out anonymously, which makes it especially distressing and difficult to escape. The word emerged in the late twentieth century by fusing the established term 'bully' with the prefix 'cyber-', reflecting growing public concern about hostile behaviour online. It now features prominently in school policies, parenting advice, legislation, and media coverage of internet safety. Closely related terms include 'cyberbullying' (the behaviour) and 'cyberbullied' (the state of being targeted).
A person who uses electronic communication to bully, intimidate, or harass others, typically repeatedly.
"Teachers received training on how to spot signs that a student is being targeted by a cyberbully."
To intimidate, threaten, or humiliate someone using electronic means such as social media, texts, or email.
"Anonymous accounts were used to cyberbully students at the school."
Usually used transitively; the past-tense form is 'cyberbullied'.
Standard plural form of the noun.
"Cyberbullies often create fake accounts to hide their identity."
The word 'cyberbully' didn't exist before the internet age — it was born when an ancient word for a cowardly brute collided with the digital world.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cyberbully
The word 'cyberbully' is a modern compound formed from 'cyber-' and 'bully'. The prefix 'cyber-' derives ultimately from the Greek 'kybernētēs', meaning steersman or governor, via Norbert Wiener's mid-twentieth-century field of cybernetics, and came to denote anything relating to computers and virtual space. 'Bully' has a murkier English history, likely from the sixteenth century, originally meaning sweetheart before shifting to mean a blustering tormentor. The compound arose in the 1990s as internet use spread and harassment moved into online spaces, joining a family of analogous formations such as cybercrime and cyberstalking.
Related word forms
How cyberbully is actually used
'Cyberbully' carries strongly negative connotations and appears most often in discussions of child safety, schools, and online conduct. As a verb it is usually transitive ('to cyberbully someone'). The derived noun 'cyberbullying' — referring to the behaviour rather than the perpetrator — is considerably more common in everyday usage than the agent noun itself.
Easily confused with cyberbully
A troll typically provokes people for amusement or reaction, while a cyberbully deliberately and often repeatedly targets a specific victim to cause harm.