English dictionary, thesaurus, translations & etymology

Slang Dictionary — Modern Slang, Decoded

What does that word actually mean? Our slang dictionary explains modern slang clearly — Gen Z, internet, British and street slang — with real definitions, examples and where each term came from.

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Gen Z Slangrizz, delulu, slay Internet Slangbrainrot, based, mid British Slangpeng, bare, peak AAVEbussin, finna, cap

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Latest slang terms

The instrumental rhythm track over which dancehall/reggae DJs voice their lyrics; many artists record over the same riddim.

Glaswegian for the cringe so bad your neck and face go scarlet. Used both for the feeling and the cause — 'pure rid neck' is the standard intensifier. The Scottish equivalent of getting absolutely flamed.

To bait someone with a tempting link, headline, or QR code that actually opens the Rick Astley video. Nearly two decades in, people still fall for it, especially when the link is dressed up as a leaked album, breaking news, or work doc.

Often paired with 'zhoosh' (to style) and 'shusher' or 'riah-zhoosher' for a hairdresser.

A series of jumps or rollers placed back-to-back on a track that must be negotiated with rhythm and timing, whether by rolling, pumping, or jumping. Reading a rhythm section well is a key racing skill.

A heated argument or scuffle on the field, often involving multiple players and umpires.

A big board made for surfing big waves; a vintage term for a gun, less used since the 1960s-70s.

Modern sense: a sergeant. The Welsh-language rank used in Welsh regiments and bilingual military signage, and pulled into English when writing about Welsh forces.

Teasing slang implying rheumatology is a relaxed posting with few emergencies.

To bring a dead teammate back to life with a resurrection spell, saving them a corpse run. The thing you beg the healer for after a wipe.

A noisy, chaotic, disorderly situation — lots of people, noise, and disorder all at once.

A move in which the rider slides the wheels 180 degrees on landing or on transition to switch back to their normal riding direction, often tacked onto other tricks.

A romance setup where the female lead ends up with a whole roster of partners instead of picking one. Often rebranded as 'why choose' on BookTok because nobody is being shared against their will — everyone's signed up. Big in paranormal and fantasy romance.

reverse cuffing

Choosing to avoid coupling up during the traditional cuffing months, embracing independence when others are pairing off. A counter-trend to cuffing season.

reverse bottle adventure

An Ocarina of Time glitch where putting a bottle on the B button lets you write a bottle's internal item value into memory outside the inventory, into addresses used for medallions, quest items and equipment. Runners use it to grant themselves upgrades and skip whole dungeons.

You're stuck in blockstun or waking up off a knockdown. A reversal is a move fired off on the first actionable frame, usually one with startup invincibility, to blow up whatever the opponent is doing. The classic get-off-me button.

revenge quitting

Resigning from a job abruptly and often publicly as an act of retaliation against an employer, typically after feeling mistreated, undervalued, or ignored.

Used to signal solidarity or belonging to the same crew or neighbourhood.

return-to-office mandate

A formal policy requiring employees who had been working remotely to return to a physical office for some or all of the workweek. Such mandates triggered trends like coffee badging and resenteeism.

retrospectoscope

A joke 'device' with which everything is obvious in retrospect — invoked when a diagnosis is clear only after the fact.

They took the site and the bomb's ticking. A retake is the counter-attack to win it back, clear the defenders, and either kill them all or defuse before it blows. Coordinated util and a clean timing push are everything here.

Everyday individual investors trading their own money, contrasted with institutional 'smart money.' WSB casts retail as the scrappy underdog.

A technique of taking a set to failure, resting only a few seconds, then continuing for additional reps with the same weight.

Used as a greeting, thanks or acknowledgement conveying mutual respect; often 'respect due'.