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 school attendance officer — the council-sent enforcer whose job was knocking on doors when kids didn't show up for class. Loomed large in mid-20th-century Birmingham childhoods. The threat of the wag mon kept many a Brummie kid honest.

An acronym for the partners of players, especially those who attract media attention at tournaments.

A rolled or folded bunch of bills; a lot of cash on hand.

A lighthearted, rhyming euphemism for marijuana.

A humorous, old-school rhyming term for cannabis.

Friendly term of address — mate, pal, fella. Vintage Scouse, more your granddad than your mate. Often shortened to 'wack'. Outsiders sometimes use 'wacker' as a nickname for Scousers themselves.

Spanglish verb meaning to watch or look; also spelled 'watchar' or 'guachar.'

Chicano command meaning 'look' or 'check this out'; also spelled 'güacha.'

Weary, run-down or feeling under the weather.

A dance style from the 1970s disco era, born in the LGBTQ clubs of Los Angeles. It's all about the arms, fast rotational throws, sharp poses, attitude and glamour for days, danced to up-tempo disco. It runs adjacent to vogue and the two have borrowed from each other heavily over the decades, which is why people often mention them in the same breath.

Sometimes back-formed as an acronym ('we owned the other team'), though this is a later folk explanation.

An abbreviation of "without," pairing W with a slash and O. Common in quick notes.

W is forward on PC, so w-keying means you only ever move toward the fight. Pure forward momentum, never backing off. Can be a compliment for relentless aggression or a roast for someone who runs it down mindlessly.

Used as a stand-in word for expensive, real diamonds in general.

Willing to share real feelings and risk emotional exposure with someone.

A vulnerability debuff that ramps up the damage you take. Eat a mechanic, get a vuln stack, and the next hit hurts a lot more. Pile up enough and you're one tap from dead.

A rapid heart rhythm arising from the ventricles that can be life-threatening and may degenerate into cardiac arrest.

A teen-girl subculture defined by a specific bundle of objects and mannerisms: metal water bottle, scrunchie stack on the wrist, oversized tee over bike shorts, 'sksksk' and 'and I oop' as catchphrases, and earnest save-the-turtles energy. Briefly omnipresent on TikTok, then absorbed into the wider 2019 mood.

The set of core physiological measurements: temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure, and often oxygen saturation.

Drop-in replacement for 'bro' that doesn't carry the bro-y gender baggage. Used to address friends of any gender. Softer, slightly funnier, slightly more terminally-online than 'bro'.

A Vulnerable Prisoner — one who must be kept apart from the general population for their own safety.

You knock them down, run an unreactable mixup, and whatever you land knocks them down again — straight back into the same mixup. Guess wrong once and you're trapped in the spin cycle.

A patient subjected to unnecessary tests and interventions triggered by an incidental scan finding.

To be given a task framed as voluntary but with no real option to refuse.