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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The painted area immediately under the basket stretching out to the free-throw line, named for its old keyhole shape.

'The joint' is a common slang term for prison. To be 'in the joint' is to be incarcerated.

The inmate telephone. 'On the jack' means on the phone.

Shorthand in Los Angeles for the entertainment industry, film, TV, or music.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway, one of several Chicago highways referred to by name with 'the.'

Shorthand for the Inland Empire, the inland region of Riverside and San Bernardino counties east of Los Angeles.

A running list of small behaviors or traits that instantly kill someone's attraction to a partner.

A nickname for Boston as the metaphorical center of things — 'the Hub of the Universe.'

Stacked into the fuller 'the house down boots' for even more emphasis.

The Chattahoochee River — the big winding waterway that cuts through metro Atlanta. If a local says they're heading to the Hooch, they mean tubing, fishing, or day-drinking by the water.

Solitary confinement. The isolation unit where inmates are locked down 23 hours a day with stripped privileges — no commissary, no rec, no contact. Punishment for fights, contraband, or just pissing off the wrong CO. The universal American prison term for it.

The exhausting, repetitive daily effort of working hard, often over a long period, toward a goal. To 'be on the grind' is to be hustling relentlessly.

The set of measures — delta, gamma, theta, vega, rho — quantifying how an option's price responds to the underlying, time, and volatility. WSB apes famously ignore them.

the great resignation

A mainly American economic trend beginning in early 2021 in which employees voluntarily resigned en masse, citing wage stagnation, poor conditions, and inflexible policies. Also called the Big Quit and the Great Reshuffle.

the great reshuffle

A reframing of the Great Resignation emphasizing that many workers did not exit the workforce but moved to different, better-suited roles, industries, or arrangements.

A warm in-group term for your fellow queer people, whatever their gender. Calling the lads 'the girls' is the joke and the point: it signals chosen family and camp sisterhood, not literal gender. Riffs on the long queer habit of using she/her for everyone.

The G train, the only NYC subway line that doesn't enter Manhattan, connecting Brooklyn and Queens; notorious among riders.

The cops. American slang from the 1920s that went global in the 60s with the counterculture — hippies, beats and bikers all called them the fuzz. Edgar Wright cemented it for a new generation with Hot Fuzz (2007).

the frozen tundra

The enduring nickname for Green Bay's Lambeau Field, evoking its brutal cold-weather games.

Shorthand for Zone 4, the APD policing zone covering Atlanta's Westside and Southwest. Same neighborhood reference as 'Zone 4' but spoken more casually.

Acres Homes on the north side, named after Houston METRO's Route 44 bus that's been hauling residents downtown for decades. Mike Jones put the route on the map with 'Still Tippin'.' Locals say 'fo-fo,' outsiders say '44.'

the five boroughs

Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island — together, all of New York City.

The police, said with contempt. Common in the UK, Ireland and Australia, especially in working-class and criminal circles. Irvine Welsh used it for his Bruce Robertson novel — that's the energy.

Any duty or training conducted away from a permanent post or base, or the state of being forward-deployed. 'In the field' means living rough on exercise or operations.