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

Built from "chop" (eat/consume) and "life," the phrase means living it up and enjoying every pleasure life offers, without holding back.

A friendly, informal request or offer of a fist bump, usually as a sign of approval or camaraderie.

Sideways, whipsawing price movement that lacks a clear trend, frustrating both bulls and bears. Also 'choppy.'

A Brooklyn-based drill set positioned against the Woos. You can't talk Pop Smoke-era NYC drill without naming the Choos — the rivalry is the engine half the catalogue runs on.

A young man of the Chicano barrio/gang subculture, with a distinctive dress and style; can be pejorative.

British slang for prison, and more specifically for solitary confinement or the punishment block. Roald Dahl made it famous to a generation via Miss Trunchbull's torture cupboard in Matilda, but the word's been knocking around English since the British Raj.

A length of wire rope or chain looped round a beam, log or load so a crane can lift it — the loop tightens (chokes) under tension and grips the load. Standard rigging kit on iron jobs and in logging, where 'choker setter' is an entry-level job hooking logs to the cable.

A truck-stop restaurant or roadside greasy spoon — the kind where the coffee's been on since dawn and the gravy's a war crime. Drivers say it with affection. You stop, you eat, you regret it, you do it again tomorrow.

To collapse mentally at the crucial moment and blow a winning position.

An intensified 'choice', meaning excellent or awesome.

An expression meaning good, cool or awesome; also used as an interjection of approval.

A term borrowed from Korean/Japanese fan culture for one's absolute favorite idol, equivalent to an ult bias. Written 최애 in Korean.

Completely full or packed out. Used for places (pubs, trains, town) and for being stuffed after a meal. Short for 'chock-a-block', a nautical term from when ship blocks were hauled tight together — pure Liverpool docker heritage in one word.

Crammed full to capacity; often clipped to 'chocka'.

A dismissive or exasperated exclamation, like 'come on!' or 'nonsense!'. Also 'cha'.

Slang for a bicycle (also called 'faster').

A sanctioned beating administered by a gang or car to discipline a member for breaking rules.

A formal written request — for leave, off-base housing, special liberty, light duty, whatever you need permission for. You 'put in a chit' and wait for it to come back signed or denied. The bureaucratic spine of military life: nothing happens without one.

Pure Dublin slang for a kid — small one, young fella, ankle-biter. Affectionate, working-class, heard everywhere from the inner city to Fair City. Nothing to do with the American 'chiseler' meaning swindler — totally different word.

To flirt, chat up or hit on someone. London-specific — you 'chirpse a girl' the way someone in another city would 'pull' or 'spit game'. Usually playful in tone, often used about teenagers' attempts.

A nickname for Chicago — specifically the South and West Side — that frames the city as a war zone. Born from the grim stat that Chicago was outpacing US troop deaths in Iraq. Drill rappers wear it as a badge; city officials hate it.

An affectionate term for a very small child or a little one.

Thick-cut fried potato chips (fries); 'fish and chips' is the classic Kiwi takeaway.

When you block a special or super move you usually still take a sliver of damage. It's tiny per hit, but on a near-empty life bar it can finish you off through your own guard.