Teen slang words guide

What are they saying?

If you're looking for a guide to teen slang used in 2025, then you've come to the right place!

In the luna app, we hear from thousands of teens and have a dedicated team of teen ambassadors who have given us their insight into the slang terms they use, how they use them, and what they actually mean.

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We've organised this in alphabetical order for easy reading, and we'll keep this updated as we learn new UK slang terms from our community of teens 💡

If you want more, you can also discover the emojis teens are using right now via our guide, or the text acronyms they use in messages, captions and DMs.

“Aight”: equivalent to “okay”; “That’s aight”

“A Karen”: used in the context of someone who complains or is simply rude; was originally used offensively to describe a middle aged woman who is rude and entitled (main catchphrase is “I want the manager”); “Ugh, my mom is being such a Karen, I just wanted to go out”

“Alpha”: often referring to a crush, someone who’s powerful or dominant in social settings; often used by Generation Alpha (0-15 years old); “He is such an Alpha”

“As [expletive]” (AF): used to agree with someone or something or to emphasise; “that’s cool af”

"Ate": means someone did something really well; “She ate down with that outfit”

"Aura" or "Aura points": if you do something embarrassing or humbling you essentially lose aura points, and if you do something good or cool you gain aura points – a good example is on social media you’ll find lots of videos where people write “how many aura points did I lose when I did [insert humbling story]”

“Bae”: cute nickname to describe a significant other; used along baby or babe; “They're my bae”

“Banger”: used to describe an amazing song; “Mamma Mia by ABBA is such a banger” 

“Based”: when you agree with the argument, when the argument is grounded in factual statements; “Dude your take on dogs is based” 

“Basic”: something unextraordinary, boring, lacklustre, often used to describe a person or a cultural thing; “She is so basic, I saw her with her pumpkin spiced latte yesterday”, "I can't believe people like [insert artist name], they're so basic"

“Beef”: having drama with someone, having a feud; “I don’t want to go to the party with her, she and I have beef”

"Be for real" (BFR): a call for honesty or to stop exaggerating, often calling another out; used more commonly in BFFR (Be [expletive] For Real); “Bestie BFR, that outfit wasn't as bad as you're saying it was”  

“Bed rotting” sometimes “Rotting": popularised on social media, this means staying in bed all day, often on devices, and not practising self care or avoiding responsibilities – sometimes due to a poor mood, or just not feeling up to doing anything; “Sorry I can’t go for a walk, today is bed rotting day”

“Beige flag”: quirky behaviour or attributes, often in a romantic partner, that are neither positive (green) nor negative (red), little quirks that make you go "Hug...that's something!"; “He claps when the plane lands – to me that's such a beige flag” 

“Beg” or “Beggy”: used to describe someone who is too eager to gain attention, approval, or material benefits from others, often seen as insincere or desperate; “He's being so beggy”

“Bet”: to go for it or used to say “ok”; “Hey, we're going to the movies, wanna come?” “Bet”

“Big yikes”: something extremely embarrassing; “I literally crashed and spilled my drink all over my crush yesterday” “Big yikes”

“Bounce”: to go somewhere, to head somewhere else; “Gotta bounce”

“Brainrot”: Oxford Dictionary definition: “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging"; “You literally speak in brainrot,” 

“Brat” or "Brat summer": no longer just a term used to describe a petulant person, this has expanded to a new meaning, credited to performer Charlie XCX through the marketing of her album "Brat"; it means going against the grain, doing the unexpected, messiness, creativity, and self-expression – a resistance to all things curated, "perfect" and conventional; “She literally looks so brat with her hair like that” 

“Brokie”: someone who does not have sufficient funds; “I spent all my money on Taylor Swift tickets, now I’m a brokie”

“Bruh”: equivalent to dude; “Bruh, leave me alone!” 

“Bussin’”: something delicious, usually said in the context of food; “This sushi is bussin’.”

“Canon event”: a moment that built character in someone’s life; “It’s fine, getting a detention from Mrs. Evans is a canon event all year 9s have to go through” 

“Cap”: used to call someone out for their lie, something that is not true; “Dude that’s cap, you did not say that to him”

“Caught in 4k”: getting exposed; “I caught you in 4k flirting with that guy” 

“Cheugy”: something old and not cool; “Owl pendant necklaces are so cheugy”

“Clapped”: has multiple meanings, but in the UK it mostly means insulting someone for their looks; “Damn you used your bike so much, its clapped” 

“Clown”: used to describe someone who is a fool or to describe oneself in internet culture when they've been taken for a fool e.g. in a romantic context; “He made me feel like such a clown”

"Cooked": this can mean "you’re done" or "that’s over"; loss of hope over a situation; “I’m so cooked for this test tomorrow, I didn’t study”

“Cope”: used to finish an argument, can be interchangeable with “agree to disagree” or "deal with it"; “I’m done arguing, cope”  

“Cringe”: something embarrassing, gives a feeling of repulsion; “That’s so cringe, please stop”

“Cursed”: describing something off-putting, creepy almost; “Dude, your avatar looks cursed”

“Curve”: to ignore/reject somebody's romantic advances; “I curved him after he said he wanted to go to the movies, I don’t want a relationship”

“Dank”: something cool and original/niche; “I only make dank memes”

“Dead”: laughing so much to the point of almost “dying”; “I’M DEAD!” 

“Deadass”: to be so serious; “Dude, deadass, I passed all my A-levels even without studying hard” 

“Deets”: short for details; “Please give me all the deets about the date” 

“Delulu”: short for delusion, ignorance is bliss; “I know he isn’t into me, but I will remain delulu” 

“Demure”: popularised recently on social media, this means being mindful, considerate and modest – often used to explain how someone has dealt with a tricky situation e.g. a disagreement at school or a public breakup; “See how I handled that breakup? Very demure, very maturely, very quietly” 

“Diff”: short for difference; “What’s the diff between cap and BFR?”  

“Do it for the Plot”: encouraging crazy behaviour for the story it could lead to, such as sending risky texts to friends or crushes; “Girl, do it for the plot and ask him out”

“Dope”: something cool; “That new bag is so dope” 

“Down bad”: being silently desperate to be in a relationship; “I’m so down bad for him, I think I will do anything for him to ask me out” 

“Drip”: to describe someone’s outfit as cool; “He has some insane drip”  

“Dub”: another term for win, interchangeable with “W”; “We won 10-6, we took the dub!” 

“Dusty”: used as an insult and describes someone as unkept/unclean; “I won’t go with him, he is so dusty”  

“Eepy”: short for sleepy; “My dog is so eepy”

“Extra”: used to describe a person who is trying too hard or going too far; “My brother's so extra, just do the chores mum asked you to do, no need to kick up a fuss”

“Feral”: used in past tense when someone acted crazy; “I will go feral if we don’t leave school early”

“Flex”: to brag; “Not to flex on you guys, but my mum got me that trending teen skincare product” 

“Flick”: short for picture; “Did you get flicks of that outfit you wore last night?”

“Flop era”: being stuck in a rut; “It's time I set some new goals and leave my flop era”  

“Finesse”: scheming your way out of a system, being slick; “Ima finesse my way around to get some free movie tickets”

“Fire”: used to flatter or describe something in a positive way; “Dude that’s so fire”  

“Fit”: UK slang for someone who is good looking; or short for outfit; “Love the 'fit”, “I fancy them, they're fit”

“Fit check”: showing off your outfit, or multiple outfits, often in a social media video; “Fit check!” 

"FR": short for "for real," used to agree with someone; “OMG, I FR feel the same way about them” 

“Function”: used in the context of “pulling up to the function”, a party

“Gas”: being satisfied or describing something insanely good, used in the context of food; “This food is gas, ima order another set of dumplings” 

“Ghosted”: to be left on read by a crush, cutting ties off abruptly; “I got ghosted by Jake, I’m so sad :(“ 

“Giving”/ “It’s giving”: “it’s giving” means something is generally positive; also used to describe other connotations, so “it’s giving alpha” might mean something is giving powerful vibes; “It’s giving brat” 

“Glow up”: when someone changes their look, a positive transformation mentally and physically; “She had such a glow up during the summer, I wonder if its because of football camp”  

“GOATEST”: an exaggerated version of G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time), meaning someone or something that is the absolute best; “David Beckham is the GOATEST” 

“Goblin mode”: going “crazy” or “insane”, losing it; meant to describe someone’s state of mind/persona; “I’m about to go full on Goblin Mode for this party tonight”, "My cat got the zoomies and went full Goblin Mode"

“Go off”: about to go on a tirade/rant; “I will go off on Josie if she flakes on my birthday party tonight”

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“Grind”: to work hard; “I’m grinding to finish this essay for tonight” 

“Gucci”: used to describe state of being in a positive light; “it’s all good”=”it’s all gucci”

“Gyatt”: used to express excitement, surprise, or admiration, often as an exclamation in reaction to seeing a large bum or curvy figure – it's often used as a noun and a hashtag; “GYATT! She is fine”

“Hits different” / "Hits diff": usually used positively, when something feels different in different contexts; “Cold water hits different after a nap” 

“Hop off”: wanting someone to log offline; “Hop off the chat pls, you’re being annoying” 

“Hype”: to describe something excitingly or something popular; “I finally get the hype of the Borough Market strawberries”, "I finally get the Stanley Cup hype"

“Ick”: an action that your crush does that “turns you off”, often quite petty in context and generally comedic in nature; “The way she tripped gave me the ick”, "I got the ick when I say him read the chocolate box card before choosing his chocolate"

“IRL” (In Real Life): used to differentiate between situations or friendships that are online or in real life; “My IRL friends literally do not know I secretly play League of Legends”

"Iykyk" (if you know, you know): used for inside jokes or shared knowledge of context; “ “Only real ones know about Josie’s birthday, ifykyk” 

"Jarring": annoying or agitating; “Man don't be so jarring…” 

“Kinda ate”: negative connotation to ate, or when someone surprisingly ate when they didn't intend to/weren't expected to; “I know that outfit was weird but you kinda ate" 

"Leave": used to indicate someone is being annoying or embarrassing; “Leave – you’re being so annoying” 

“Lit”: the short form of literally or something that is “fire”, something that is cool; “Dude that jacket is lit”, "Lit cannot explain how stressed I am rn"

“L/ Take the L”: means losing/loser, accepting a loss; “Take the L my guy, there's no coming back from that”  

“LMAO” (Laughing My Ass Off): used interchangeably with dead, laughing but in an ironic sense; “LMAO, there's no way you spilled your drink on him” 

“Locked in”: in a groove, getting the hang of something, being super concentrated; “I have to lock in for this exam, if not I fail the entire course” 

“Lore”: background information on someone or something often going back years; possibly secrets or in the case of celebrities, things that the true fans would know; “Spencer Pratt lore is the craziest lore”

“LOML” (love of my life): a soulmate, used platonically or romantically, mostly used platonically; “Ashley is literally the LOML, we’ve been besties since primary school”, more recently the meaning could also indicate "loss of my life" since Taylor Swift released the song "loml"

“Lowkey”: to play down the intensity of someone’s emotions or opinions or to keep things on the down low/secret; usually said in this manner “Lowkey I want some ice cream", "Lowkey I do not like them” 

"Mental": used as slang for something crazy or unexpected; “That’s mental that she made so much money selling sweets online”

“Mid”: means mediocre; “That show is mid”

“Mogging”: showing off your looks to seem superior; “Dude stop mogging, no one is impressed”

“Moment”: usually referring to a drama or something being spotlit, can be used to set something in context; "You're having a moment", "I'm having a Mariah Carey moment"

“Mood”: usually used as a response after relating to something someone else has said; “No bc that is literally a mood” 

“Mute”: used to ignore someone online; “I’m muting this convo” 

“NGL” (not gonna lie): used as “just saying” or “no offence”, giving your opinion; “NGL, I don’t like her vibe”

“No cap”: not lying; “That food was so good, no cap” 

“Noob”: a novice, often used in a gaming context for newbies; “You’re such a noob at this game”  

“No thoughts, head empty”: used to describe someone dumb, said after saying something dumb or describing a state of mind; “Dude don’t talk I’m no thoughts, head empty” 

“Normie”: describing someone who is out of touch within online culture, someone who tends to follow the status quo; “You’re such a normie you only like chart music” 

“NPC”: in a context of a game it means “non-playable character”, teenagers apply this to someone who has no personality/bland; “They're such an NPC, that group just stands there and doesn’t move” 

“Ohio”: not just a US state, but a synonym for anything strange or a bit cringey – used as an adjective; “That’s Ohio” 

“OOMF”: used to mean One Of My Friends; “When OOMF tells me they have a crush on someone” 

“OMG” (oh my god/gosh): said in state of shock or surprise; “OMG, I have to tell you something!”

“ONG” (on god): used to swear by; “ONG I am not lying” 

“On point”: close to perfection; “That is so on point” 

“Outta pocket”: someone or a phrase that is said out of context; or something said controversially; “That comment was so outta pocket” 

“Periodt”: meaning period, said at the end of a statement; “Periodt, queen! You left them speechless”  

“Pink tote lid moment”: a social media trend in which teens, as well as adults on a smaller scale, share unsettling stories about their experiences arguing and disagreeing with a parent; “That is such a Pink Tote Lid Moment” 

“Pookie”: another term of endearment for either a partner or friend; “They are my pookies, I don’t go anywhere without my besties”

“POV” (“Point Of View): usually said in memes or videos filmed from the angle of the creator; “POV: you’re waking up in the morning”

“Preppy”: more recently a type of fashion trend with pastels, gingham and basic styles; “I do not like the Preppy fashion”  

“Pushing P”: used when something is going great, can be used interchangeably with fire; “Literally pushing P” 

“Ratio”: often used to explain the ratio between likes and comments; “She gets millions of views but only 10k likes, her ratio is a red flag” 

“Real”: said to agree with someone; “What you said was so real” 

“Reckless”: used positively when being “messy”, an aesthetic of being true to yourself; “I feel so reckless! I’m free!” 

“Reckon”: used to ask for an opinion on something; “Whaddya reckon?”

“Rent free”: something/topic that takes over your mind for an allotted period of time; “Timothee Chalamet lives in my mind rent free”  

"Rizz": short for charisma, the ability to charm or attract someone; “She has infinite rizz” 

"Roadman": UK slang referring to someone who dresses in streetwear and engages in stereotypically urban behaviour; “He looks like a total roadman” 

“Salty”: holding a little bit of remorse over a situation; “She's was so salty after I told her that her dog looks fat”

“Sauce”:  when you get hung up on a topic, becoming out of touch with reality; “Lost in the sauce”

“Serving”: used to describe someone’s amazing outfit; “You are literally serving with that dress”

“Sheesh”: used when you're flabbergasted; “SHEESH!”

“Ship”: to couple up two people together who aren't actually together; “I ship them, they would look so good together”, "My friends ship me with him but I don't really like him"

“Sic/Sick”: something great, can be interchangeable with fire; “That is so sick” 

“Side eye”: to judge someone’s comment or to explain someone was judging your; “Did you hear what she said...side eye”, "Did you see the side eye they gave me..."

"Sigma": refers to someone who’s independent, confident, and successful; "sigma rizz" = "you’ve got game"

"Sigma" or "skibidi rizzler": refers to someone who is popular or has charisma; “He is so sigma”

“Simp”: to demonstrate interest in someone in an obvious way, negative; “You are such a simp for Samantha”

“Silent W”: a silent win, not bragging about something positive that happened to you; “Me accidentally winning the raffle is such a Silent W”

“Situationship”: a one-sided relationship between two people or a relationship which is non-committal and confusing; “I'm stuck in a situationship”  

"Skibidi": doesn’t actually mean anything, can mean something is “bad” or “cool” but it can also simply be used as a word or meme to confuse people or to start a joke; “You’re so skibidi”

“Smol”: diminutive of small, used to describe something as cute and tiny; “My cat is so smol” 

“Snatched”: used to describe someone’s body or looks, “your waist is snatched” 

“Social battery”: the amount of energy someone has to in social settings; “My social battery is running out, I gotta head home” 

"Slay": used to describe something impressive or someone who performed very well; “Girl you slayed that presentation”

“Slept on” or “sleep on”: something that is overlooked, like something that is niche e.g. “don’t sleep on this” 

“Stan”: obsessed with something niche, liking something like a band, being a fan or supporter; “I stan BTS”, "Emily's new relationship? I stan"

“Sturdy”: USA slang for dancing; “OMG they are getting sturdy in the dance floor” 

“Sus”: shortened version of suspicious, or weird; “The fact that they didn’t invite us to their birthday party is so sus” 

“Tap in”: a reflective saying to mean looking inwards; “Tap into your inner self” 

“Tap out”: stopping doing something (as seen in boxing historically); “You guys finish the game without me, I'm tapping out to go to bed” 

“TBH” (to be honest”): being honest with someone, giving your opinion; “TBH, I don't think that sounds like a fun plan” 

“Tea”: drama or gossip; used in the context of “spilling tea”; "You aren't gonna believe the tea I have for you today"

“Thirsty" / "thirst trap”: someone who is desperate for something; in the context of thirst trap it is being “thirsty” for attention by posting images in a (sometimes) provocative way; "His gym pics are thirst traps"

“Throw shade”: throwing passive aggressive comments, usually does mean throwing shade; “Not to throw shade, but she literally is so mean” 

“Tight”: being close to someone; “We tight”

“Unalive”: describing something that is dead or used instead of killing/murdering; “I have 23 missed calls from my mum, she totally gonna unalive me.” 

“Valid”: to accept something or validate someone's comments / concerns; “That’s so valid” 

“Vanilla”: someone who is bland, similar to Basic; “She's so vanilla”  

“Vibe" / "Vibing”: can be used interchangeably with aura, enjoying something, used in positively; “I love her vibe, it’s so beachy” 

“Vibe check”: monitoring someone’s vibe or aura; “Sorry before I invite you, I gotta vibe check you to see if you mix well with my friends”

"Vent account": a usually anonymous social media account (often TikTok) for people who want to express their feelings and share what they’re going through – this could be because they feel they don’t have anyone in their life to turn to, or because they want to show people on the internet that they’re not alone; “I only use my vent account when I’m down bad”

“W”: a win; “W’s in the chat” 

“We move”: carrying on after a difficult situation; “I didn't do well in the test I studied really hard for, but we move” 

“Wholesome 100”: used in the gaming community after someone dies; player dies “Wholesome 100” 

“Wildin’" / "That’s wild”: going crazy or something crazy; “Wildin’ out”

"Womp womp": used to mock someone doing something embarrassing/bad, like the sound; "That was so embarrassing womp womp"

"WTF": common phrase for expressing confusion or disbelief, meaning "what the [expletive]"; “My mum grounded me and I didn't even do anything, WTF”

“WYA” (Where You At): can be used as “The party starts at 7, its 7 now, WYA?” 

“WYD” (What You Doing): finding out what someone is up to; “I am so bored, WYD”, "WYD at the weekend"

“Yapper” / "Yap" / "Yapping": someone who talks a lot; “Sorry, I’m such a yapper when we are talking”, "Quit yapping"

“Yas”: an enthusiastic yes; “Yas slay queen” , "Yaaaaas queen"

“Yassify”: to use filters and enhance one’s looks to the point of being super glamorous; “I look so yassified with this filter”

“Yeet”: to throw something hard and fast; “YEET!”, "I yeeted that pencil across the classroom"

“Yikes”: said after saying something shocking or when something negative happens; "I confessed to him and he said he wanted to just be friends" "Yikes!"

“YOLO” (You Only Live Once): can be interchangeable with “Do it for the Plot”, a bit more millennial than teen (Gen Alpha or Z"; “Don't really want to go on this holiday, but YOLO” 

“Zesty”: a slightly derogatory term to refer to who seems flamboyant; “He’s just a lil zesty”

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