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

Describes serious financial hardship or lack of money. Originally an Ezza-dialect word for poverty that migrated into Otu-Onitsha market slang usage.

Anything. Northern English contraction of 'aught'. Pairs with its twin 'nowt' (nothing). Heard across Geordie, Yorkshire and Lancashire — slot it in wherever 'anything' would go.

To be beaten decisively in an argument, fight, or game.

When a player puts the ball into their own goal, usually by an error, and the goal is credited to the opposition.

Stands for Older Wiser Lesbian. An older, more experienced sapphic who's been around the scene and carries the wisdom to prove it. Often used affectionately or aspirationally — the queer elder you go to for advice — and sometimes in the dating sense, an older woman with a younger partner, a sapphic answer to 'cougar'.

'How are you?' — the Birmingham version of the Black Country 'ow bist'. Three words collapsed into one breath: 'how am ya'. The 'am' instead of 'are' is the giveaway you're hearing a Brummie or Yam Yam — it's what gave Black Country folk the nickname 'Yam Yams' in the first place.

Describes a big, festive Nigerian party known for elaborate outfits (aso ebi), live music, and abundant food — especially associated with Yoruba celebration culture but now used nationwide.

'How are you?' — a Black Country greeting that's basically a fossil of Early Modern English. 'Bist' is the old second-person singular of 'to be' (as in 'thou bist'), which standard English dropped centuries ago but the Black Country kept. Classic reply is 'bostin', ta.'

A tag added to statements for emphasis in Māori/Pasifika-influenced Kiwi speech, as in 'not even, ow'.

A level above 'understood'. Not just 'I heard you' — 'I heard you, I get the why, we don't need to discuss it again.' Drops as a single word to end a conversation cleanly. Big in Dallas rap and the wider South before TikTok spread it everywhere.

To understand — Rastas replace 'under' with 'over' to avoid negative connotations, so one rises to knowledge rather than standing under it.

An asset is oversold when it has dropped sharply and, by indicators like RSI below 30, may be overextended to the downside and due for a bounce. It suggests selling pressure has been excessive.

Extended engagement covering dinner, sex and actually sharing the bed until morning. Vetting is stricter than for a one-hour call, the rate is a flat package, and providers usually cap how many they'll take per month because they wreck your sleep schedule.

Describes a wave whose face is taller than a standing person, used as a rough measure of wave size.

The phase after the main knockdown where crews pull ceilings, open walls, flip mattresses and chase smouldering pockets to make sure the fire is genuinely out. Sweaty, filthy, and where most of the carcinogen exposure happens — full SCBA still on.

A money strategy enabled by remote work.

An asset is overbought when it has risen sharply and, by momentum indicators like RSI above 70, may be overextended and vulnerable to a pullback. It suggests buying pressure has gotten ahead of itself.

A directional phrase pointing to a place away from the speaker, typically accompanied by a nod or gesture; "way over yonder" adds distance.

Reaching the halfway mark of one's sentence, after which the remaining time feels like downhill.

A wipeout where the surfer is sucked up the face and thrown over with the falling lip in a violent circular motion.

A hyperbolic stand-in for 'a stupidly large amount.' Slap it on anything you want to flag as off-the-charts: power, hype, calories, your phone bill. Always read in Vegeta's strangled shout for full effect.

A procedure word signalling "this is the end of my transmission to you and a response is necessary." It hands the channel to the other station and invites them to transmit.

So good it's gone past good, ovah means beyond, the absolute top. Interchangeable with cunty or sickening, sometimes nudging toward legendary. When a performance or a look is ovah, there's nowhere higher to go.

A drawn-out, emphatic 'over,' shouted when something is so good it's beyond, over the top, astonishing the room. It's both an adjective ('that look is ovah') and a flat-out exclamation. Top-tier praise in the ballroom; you don't say it lightly.