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 grapevine — how gossip and unofficial news spread by word of mouth. Literally 'big-lipped radio'.

A short-tempered, aggressive person, the sort who kicks off in the queue at the bus station. Often someone you cross the street to avoid.

A catch-all term of approval meaning cool, exciting, or excellent, used across all action sports. Short for 'radical'.

Slang for money in the thousands, where one "rack" equals $1,000. "Racks on racks" means a whole lot of money.

A racket is an ongoing illegal business, such as extortion, gambling, or bootlegging, run by organized criminals. A 'racketeer' is one who runs it.

rack (risk-aware consensual kink)

The grown-up answer to 'safe, sane and consensual.' RACK throws out the word 'safe' because nothing ever is, not even crossing the road. Instead you study the risk, name it out loud, and both parties choose it with eyes open. It's the working standard in serious kink circles precisely because it doesn't pretend edge play is risk-free. Honesty about danger, respect for agency.

A rack is £1,000 — the thickness of a banded stack of notes. Borrowed wholesale from US hip-hop (where it's $1,000) and naturalised into UK drill without anyone blinking. 'Racks on racks' = serious money.

Describes a trader making a substantial profit, as if licking a wooden plate clean of every last bit of food.

A flashy technique where the player crosses one leg behind the other to strike the ball, often to cross or shoot without switching feet.

rabbit and pork

Cockney rhyming slang for 'talk', shortened to 'rabbit', meaning to chatter on.

To talk incessantly; from 'rabbit and pork' = talk.

A mild expletive expressing surprise, shock or amazement; a softened stand-in for stronger curses. Also spelled rahtid.

The intake and release department that processes prisoners entering or leaving an institution.

Reading someone's messages and deliberately not replying, weaponising the read receipt so they see you've seen it and chosen silence.

A retweet that bolts your own text above the original. Officially designed for 'adding context'. Actually used to publicly humiliate the original poster while siphoning their reply count. If your mentions are full of QTs and zero are friendly, you've been ratioed via the long way round.

A surfer's collection of surfboards, each suited to different wave sizes and conditions.

What's up? What's good? The default Caló/Chicano hello between homies — same energy as 'wassup' in English. Lengthened to 'quiúbole' for extra warmth.

quit being ugly

An admonition to stop acting mean, rude, or hateful—"ugly" refers to behavior, not looks.

A girl, a young woman, a lass. North-east Scotland's word for it. Pairs with 'loon' (boy) — the two come as a set in any Doric sentence about youngsters.

A girl or young woman, especially in the North-East and Aberdeen area.

Historically and still in older usage, a brothel.

To be angry, annoyed, or fed up. From 'aquillarse' (to get mad). Also spelled quillao'/quillá.

quiet vacationing

Taking undisclosed breaks or vacation time while appearing to work, such as scheduling messages or wiggling the mouse, to avoid using official PTO or admitting to time off.

Taking deliberate steps to re-engage and find satisfaction in one's current role, such as building relationships or reshaping tasks, positioned as the positive counterpart to quiet quitting.