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

game as ned kelly

Very courageous, especially against the odds.

A forward roll, the gymnastic kind. Standard English uses 'gambol' for a playful skip; Brummies repurposed it for the specific tumble across a PE mat. Ask anyone from Birmingham what a forward roll is and they'll look at you funny.

Lazy-tongue shorthand for Galveston, the island city down I-45 from Houston. Where H-Town goes when it wants saltwater and a seawall cruise.

galvanized square steel

A quote from a viral video of a man confidently listing materials ('galvanized square steel, hand-forged brackets'), used to mock smug, overconfident competence.

A girl. Caribbean-derived pronunciation of 'gal' carried into MLE. Singular by default, but 'gallydem' / 'gyaldem' is the plural — a whole group of girls.

Daring, cheeky and full of swagger; confident, flashy and irrepressible, sometimes to the point of cockiness.

In New Orleans, a roofed second-floor balcony or covered walkway that hangs over the sidewalk — often the cast-iron lacework you picture from the French Quarter. Locals draw a hard line: a balcony is unsupported and small; a gallery has posts down to the street and runs the length of the building. Call it the wrong one in front of a NOLA native and you'll get corrected.

A Japanese video game genre centred on interactions with — and often the pursuit of romance with — attractive anime-style female characters. Not necessarily explicit.

Multicultural London English for a group of girls, women or female friends. The female counterpart to 'mandem'. Used affectionately for your crew of girls, or generically for women as a collective.

An idea so elaborately contrarian its author thinks they've transcended common sense, when in fact they've just out-thought themselves into nonsense. Almost always used sarcastically.

galang bout yuh business

A dismissal telling someone to go away and mind their own affairs.

To go along or go on; 'galang good' = behave / go well. Popularised globally by M.I.A.'s song 'Galang'.

A silly or foolish person; literally a rose-breasted cockatoo native to Australia.

A world-famous, elite player, especially one of the marquee names signed by Real Madrid.

A humorous imaginary 'goblin' blamed for eroding your progress when you skip workouts, undereat protein or miss sleep — the enemy of gains.

The deliberately misspelled version of 'gains,' used jokingly online to signal you belong to lifting culture.

A metaphor for being locked into a run of consistent progress; 'staying on the gains train' means keeping the momentum of muscle-building going.

A joking personification of gains loss — the mythical goblin who 'steals' your muscle when you miss workouts, undereat, or under-recover.

Positive results from lifting, especially increases in muscle mass or strength. Often stylized 'gainz' online for extra bro-cred.

A supplementary story that branches off the main narrative, focusing on side characters or separate events.

Parched. The thirst that has you eyeing up the tap. Most common after a session, a run, or three hours stuck on a Northern Rail replacement bus.

To be gagged is to be floored — a person, look or moment so fierce you literally can't speak, like you're choking on it. It's awe with a side of shock. From Black drag and ballroom, where 'gagging' described that gasping, jaw-on-the-floor reaction to something stunning. Drag Race made 'I'm gagging' and 'gagged' household phrases.

A 1920s-40s jazz-scene term for cannabis (also spelled 'gauge').

gag me with a spoon

A way to react to anything you find over-the-top or cringeworthy.