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 blended float made from Vernors ginger ale and vanilla ice cream. Named for a Detroit street, not the city of Boston.

Excellent, brilliant, smashing. The classic Black Country and Birmingham seal of approval. From the verb 'bost' meaning to break or burst — so something 'bostin' is so good it's bursting.

Spanglish loanword for one's boss or supervisor.

What you call the man behind the counter — chicken shop, off-licence, corner shop, barbers. A respectful catch-all when you don't know his name. Doesn't imply he actually owns the place.

A characteristic Scouse compliment for a nice pair of trainers, combining 'boss' and 'webs'.

An intensified form of 'boss', tacking 'that' on the end for emphasis.

An emphatic version of 'boss', with 'tha' (that) tagged on.

boss babe hustle

An entrepreneurial venture, often multi-level marketing, framed with empowerment and independence branding aimed at women, promising freedom and income through relentless self-promotion.

A woman who runs her own business or brand, projecting confidence and independence. The term is heavily associated with social-media entrepreneurship and multi-level marketing, and is often used ironically.

A friendly, respectful way to address a man; also used for a big man in charge.

When a player moves to a new club for no fee once their contract expires.

A hug, cuddle, or embrace. Pure Doric (north-east Scotland). Used as both noun and verb — you can give someone a bosie or bosie them in. Warm, affectionate, granny-coded.

A regional construction using 'borrow' where standard English uses 'lend,' as in asking someone to lend you something.

The proud self-name for Puerto Ricans and things Puerto Rican, derived from the Taíno name for the island.

A state of exhaustion and distress caused not by overwork but by persistent boredom, under-stimulation, and lack of meaningful tasks in a job.

A small country road — barely wide enough for one car, hedges scraping both wing mirrors, grass growing up the middle. The classic Irish backroad. From the Irish 'bóithrín,' literally 'little road.'

The everyday Welsh greeting for the morning, widely heard even among non-Welsh-speakers.

Cockney rhyming slang for 'skint', meaning flat broke, no money. Almost always shortened to 'brassic' in modern use (so much so that most people who say brassic have no idea it started as boracic lint, a medicated dressing).

Completely broke or out of money. 'Boracic lint' rhymes with 'skint', and it's clipped to 'boracic'.

A knife — usually a long one. Drill shorthand that started in UK road slang and got swallowed whole by NYC drill once Brooklyn started rhyming over UK beats.

Can be used as a quick verdict on music — "that's a bop" signals instant approval without needing further explanation.

Describing a person who's been drinking or tends to drink a lot.

A public house; or, of a person, someone who drinks heavily.

A police bus set up at the roadside to breath-test drivers for alcohol.