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

Potent seedless marijuana; also shortened to 'sensi'. Made famous by Black Uhuru's song of the same name.

A protagonist framed so the reader or player is addressed as 'sensei', letting them insert themselves into the story, common in some games.

An honorific for a teacher, master of a discipline, physician or other respected expert. In manga circles it is also the standard respectful title for a mangaka.

senpai noticed me

A celebratory phrase used when someone you admire — a crush, celebrity, or favorite creator — finally responds to or acknowledges you.

In its original Japanese sense, a senior or upperclassman at school or work who mentors those below them. Anime imported the term wholesale.

A rallying cry to commit fully to something risky or wild without holding back.

A man's vest or undershirt worn next to the skin.

A burst of heavy selling that drives a stock, sector or whole market down fast. Different from a slow grind lower — a sell-off has pace and panic to it. Often kicked off by a data print, a downgrade, or a tweet.

The expo's call to release a plate from the pass. 'Sell it' means the dish is ready, garnished, wiped, and goes now. Nothing actually changes hands money-wise — it's industry shorthand for 'this is leaving my world and entering the guest's'.

A creature of Scottish (especially Orkney and Shetland) folklore that lives as a seal in the sea but can shed its skin to become human.

Modern slang for a patient who has deliberately harmed themselves.

A bot wired into someone's personal Discord account instead of the proper bot API. Lets the user auto-react, auto-DM, scrape messages, or join raids at scale. Strictly bannable — Discord treats every selfbot as an attack on the platform.

A person who makes a point so spectacularly self-defeating that they basically prove the other side. They walk right up to the conclusion, then turn around and walk away whistling. The whole comedy is that they have no idea they just dunked on themselves.

A self-revive item that lets a knocked player get back up on their own, without a teammate dragging them up. Pop it while downed and you're back in the fight — if nobody finishes you first.

When you try to mock someone and the insult boomerangs straight back onto you. Usually because the thing you mocked applies to you, or your logic collapses mid-tweet. The replies will not let you forget.

Sometimes critiqued as a commodified, consumerist buzzword.

The person who selects and plays the records at a dance or on a sound system; the crowd shouts 'selecta!' to praise a good pull-up.

A scheduled day when a fandom collectively shares selfies under group-specific hashtags to build community and trend the group.

selca (bare face)

A 'saengeol' or bare-faced look an idol shows off, though it's often still lightly, naturally made up. Fans praise idols whose bare face still looks flawless.

A selfie — but specifically in K-pop fandom contexts. Short for 'self camera' (셀프 카메라). When an idol drops a selca on Weverse or Instagram, the fandom loses it instantly. 'Selca day' is the unofficial holiday where idols post selfies en masse.

A professional voice actor who performs anime, game and dub roles in Japan. Popular seiyuu develop large fanbases and often release music.

A demographic category targeting adult men, roughly 18–40, allowing more complex themes, moral ambiguity, and graphic content than shonen. Berserk and Vinland Saga are examples.

The fan practice of travelling to real places that inspired or appeared in an anime or manga, treating them as 'sacred sites' to visit and photograph.

Solitary confinement, clipped from 'administrative segregation' (ad-seg). The official-sounding cousin of 'the hole' — same isolation cell, same lockdown, just dressed up in DOC paperwork. Used by both inmates and staff.