If you want a bigger house, your dream job or an Olympic gold medal, it seems all you have to do is ‘manifest’ it. Or at least, that’s what certain A-Listers and TikTokers will have you believe.

Earlier this week, ‘manifest’ was named as Cambridge Dictionary’s word of the year.

The word soared in popularity after celebrities including Grammy-award winning Dua Lipa and Olympic behemoth Simone Biles spoke of manifesting their success in their respective industries.

As such, internet users looked up the word almost 130,000 times on the Cambridge Dictionary website this year – which equates to more than 350 searches every day.

But what does ‘manifesting’ actually mean and is there any science to back it up?

Lexicographers said the term ‘to manifest’ has evolved to mean ‘to imagine achieving something you want, in the belief that doing so will make it more likely to happen’.

Dr Sander van der Linden, author of The Psychology of Misinformation and Professor of Social Psychology at Cambridge University, added that manifesting ‘is what psychologists call “magical thinking” or the general illusion that specific mental rituals can change the world around us.’

But Dr van der Linden warned that manifesting – which is particularly popular on TikTok – can promote ‘obsessive and compulsive behaviour’.

Dr van der Linden continued: ‘Manifesting gained tremendous popularity during the pandemic on TikTok with billions of views, including the popular 3-6-9 method which calls for writing down your wishes three times in the morning, six times in the afternoon and nine times before bed.’

However, the academic warned: ‘Think of the dangerous idea that you can cure serious diseases simply by wishing them away.

‘But can we really blame people for trying it, when prominent celebrities have been openly “manifesting” their success?’

Instead, Dr van der Linden advised ‘positive thinking’, which researchers believe can make a person more confident and thereby more likely to achieve their goals.

He said: ‘There is good research on the value of positive thinking, self-affirmation, and goal-setting.

‘Believing in yourself, bringing a positive attitude, setting realistic goals, and putting in the effort pays off because people are enacting change in the real world.’

In his 2011 book Flourish, American psychologist Martin Seligman found cultivating a positive mindset and setting achievable goals can optimise a person’s chances of achieving success.

He wrote: ‘Happiness has three aspects: positive emotion, engagement and meaning, each of which feeds into life satisfaction and is measured entirely by subjective report.’ 

Although there is no scientific proof that manifestation works, certain celebrities truly believe in its power. 

Dua Lipa, known for her chart-topping hits such as New Rules, has previously spoken about her love of manifesting. 

‘Since I was very little, I’ve jotted down things I dreamt for myself,’ the songwriter said in an interview with Time Magazine.

Dua continued: ‘Manifesting is a big thing for me. I stand very firmly in the belied of putting things into the world. Subconsciously, you just work towards them. Nothing’s every too big.’ 

After signing a contract with Warner Bros in 2014, the London-born singer rocketed up the charts with hits such as New Rules and Levitating.

With three Grammy Awards and seven Brit Awards lining her shelves, Dua has collaborated with the likes of Calvin Harris and Elton John and her song Dance The Night featured in the 2023 box-office hit Barbie .

But the English-Albanian singer put her long list of accolades down to the power of manifestation.

While headlining Glastonbury, Dua told the roaring crowd: ‘It feels so good to be up here with you guys.

‘When I wrote it down, I was very specific. I said: “I really want to headline the Pyramid Stage on a Friday night” – a feat she achieved this summer.

What’s more, fans widely believe that Ariana Grande manifested her starring role as Glinda the Good Witch in Wicked, which hits cinemas on Friday.

At the age of just seven, Ariana won an auction to meet Broadway starlet Kristin Chenoweth backstage at the Gershwin Theater.

A young Ariana sang the song Popular from the musical version of Wicked – which Chenoweth starred in as the original Glinda.

Continuing to manifest the role, in 2011, the Love Me Harder singer tweeted: ‘Loved seeing Wicked again… amazing production! Made me realise how badly I want to play Glinda at some point in my life! #DreamRole.’ 

The following year, Ariana released a song in collaboration with Lebanese-American artist MIKA.

Called Popular, the campy duet sampled the beloved track from the Wicked soundtrack – the very same song Ariana had sang with Chenoweth all those years before.

It is no wonder Ariana wept when director Jon M. Chu called her up to say she had landed her ‘dream role’. 

Even her co-star Cynthia Erivo acknowledged the significance of Ariana’s casting, sending her a bouquet of flowers with a note that read: ‘The part was made for you.’

Before she became famous, Lady Gaga used a mantra to reassure herself that it was going to happen.

In a 2011 interview, the Born This Way singer said: ‘You repeat it to yourself every day. “Music is my life. Music is my life. The fame is inside of me. I’m going to make a number one record and the number one hit.”

‘You’re saying a lie over and over and over again but then one day, the lie is true.’

And lie did certainly become true. Gaga is now one of the world’s best selling music artists, having sold over 322 million records worldwide.

Her hits include Bad Romance, Telephone, Poker Face and Just Dance. The NYC-born singer later starred in the musical film A Star is Born.

Its subsequent chart-topping single Shallow made her the first woman to win an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe and a Grammy in the span of a year. 

With 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals around her neck, Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history – male or female.

The small but mighty athlete regularly advises other athletes to write down all of their short and long-term goals ahead of their sporting season.

In an online masterclass, Simone said: ‘If you look at your overall goal package, it can get stressful and overwhelming, so that’s why I split it into the two.

‘Journaling is very important at a younger age because you can really track your progress and your feelings.’

Last year the superstar gymnast had her face put on a Wheaties box. The American cereal brand only features athletes who have reached the pinnacle of their sport so much so that they have become a household name.

Simone, who is now the partner of Wheaties, said in an interview with E! News that she manifested her collaboration with a homemade version of the cereal box.

The four-gold Olympic medalist said: ‘It was my first world championship: I was 16, I had just won it and my teammates made a fake Wheaties box for me and put my picture on it.

‘That was actually in my childhood room—and it’s still there! I just think that’s the cutest thing, to just have that to look up [to] every day.’

In June 1998, a young Chris Martin filmed a video where he manifested the success of his band Coldplay.

In the grainy recording, Chris said: ‘Coldplay are going to go on to be such a huge band.

‘This will be on national television within four years. It is now the 26th of June, 1998.

‘By the 26th of June, 2002, Coldplay or the band – whatever they are called then – will be known all over.

‘We are going to be so famous. Guy, Will, Jon and Chris – don’t you forget it.’

Four years and three days later, on June 28, 2002, Coldplay headlined the Glastonbury Festival.

With three Grammy Awards under their belts, Coldplay has embarked on their Music of the Spheres World Tour which has grossed over $1billion and sold more than ten million tickets.