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

A firefly or luminous flying beetle. Also 'peeny-wally'.

Looking pale, wan or off-colour, as if unwell.

The orange uniform issued during booking or intake, evoking orange peel.

When a wave breaks in an orderly, progressive way along its face, offering a long, makeable ride rather than closing out.

An archaic word for a cop — same Robert Peel root as 'bobby', but older. Largely faded in England, but still kicking in Northern Ireland and parts of Ireland as everyday slang for the police.

Extremely low body fat with visible muscle striations and peak conditioning, as if the skin were peeled tight over the muscle.

Disengaging from your own fight to peel attackers off a teammate under pressure, usually your squishy backline. Selfless play that wins teamfights.

peeker's advantage

Because of network latency, the player swinging the corner sees the holder before the holder sees them move. You get killed by someone who, on their screen, is already standing still and aiming at you.

peek and shriek

Slang for a laparotomy in which the surgeon opens the abdomen, discovers incurable disease, and closes without proceeding.

In 'jiggle peek' or 'shoulder peek,' a quick bait to draw fire and gather info.

pedlar's french

The cant itself — the secret argot of thieves, beggars and vagabonds, so called because it sounded as foreign and unintelligible to honest ears as French.

A drinking session or booze-fuelled party; 'estar peda/pedo' is to be drunk.

Short for moped — the small-engined scooter that's become synonymous with drill-era street violence in London. Two-up on a ped, helmets down, in and out before anyone clocks the plate.

Slang for the pectoral muscles of the chest, responsible for pushing movements.

A necktie. Named after Peckham Rye, the south London park and common. Usually kept in full because 'put a Peckham on' would mean nothing to anyone, but real heads will drop the 'Rye' when the context is obvious.

Inside, a white inmate — particularly one tied to the white-power prison subculture. Originally a Southern Black slur for poor rural whites (pecker + wood, an inversion of woodpecker), it got flipped and worn as a badge by white prison gangs from the 1940s onward. Shortened to 'wood' in everyday yard talk.

The terminal box on the side of an electric motor — the little cast housing where the motor's pigtails meet the incoming supply conductors. Every electrician calls it this; nobody calls it the terminal box on a jobsite. The shape (a small protruding head on the motor body) presumably named it.

Breathing heavily, panting after exertion. 'Pech' is a gasp.

One of London's Pearly Kings (and Queens), working-class charity fundraisers famed for suits sewn with mother-of-pearl buttons.

To accidentally drive the nose of the board underwater on takeoff, usually pitching the surfer over the front.

Used in 'go pear-shaped' to mean a plan went badly wrong.

The process of timing training, diet and recovery so that condition or strength hits its highest point at the right moment, e.g. show day or meet day.

The last week before a bodybuilding competition, when athletes manipulate water, carbs and sodium to look their best on stage.

A phrase praising a work as the pinnacle of writing and storytelling, used both sincerely for beloved series and ironically for trashy favourites.