List of Internet terms

The Internet spawned many Internet-exclusive slang words over its 30-year existence and many people may struggle on figuring out what any of them mean or getting a solid understanding of their meanings. So on this page, UnTrash Wiki will make its best attempt to finish a whole list of all the Internet slang to have ever existed before the time the Internet dies to some big bug. Note that this list also includes things that are indirectly associated with the Internet, such as computer keys.

&
-8r - A suffix meaning "-ater" or "-ator".

-fag - 4chan-borne suffix at the end of another word used to describe someone who is associated with the root word. An example of -fag is Britfag. It's used as an insult — and not necessarily a racial slur — directed at people from Britain.

A
All-caps - WRITING THAT LOOKS LIKE THIS.

AMA - Short for "ask me anything".

An hero - Slang for suicide.

Animu - Alteration of the word "anime". Can be considered a derogatory term for anime.

ASCII - Short for "American Standard Code for Information Interchange". It's a representation of text in code. Many text-based visual tricks are known to be ASCII.

B
Based - Generally used to express that something is good.

Board - A section on an imageboard or forum that surrounds one topic or a net of related topics.

Boi - Meme alteration of the word "boy". Can also be comically applied to non-boys (girls).

BRB - Short for "be right back".

BTFO - Short for "blown the fuck out (of the water)". Means to defeat (and make whatever was defeated now irrelevant).

BTSO - Short for "beat the shit out", followed by "of", then whatever is having the shit beaten out of it.

BTW - Short for "by the way".

Bump - A reply to a thread used to move that thread to the top of the front page to make it more relevant.

C
Caption meme - A meme with large, bold letters in white at the top and bottom.

Circlejerk - The act of everyone in a conversation or community supporting and agreeing with everyone else while ignoring or rejecting outside views and ideas.

Clickbait - Any information that looks attractively interesting to the viewer that is misleading. Clickbait's only purpose is to gain as many viewers as possible.

Clicking - To interact with an on-screen object with the mouse's cursor. Tapping (seen below), the mobile equivalent of clicking, is often called this.

Comment - "Comment" has more than one sense.


 * A message of any length seen in the comment section of many websites. Comments in this sense are notorious for being Absolutely Disgusting, especially on YouTube.
 * An element in coding that is only visible in the code and is ignored by the system.
 * Comment section - Where comments live on websites.

Coomer - Someone who jacks off, especially excessively.

Creepypasta - A story that is intended to be creepy.

Cringe - Here it comes. "Cringe" has more than one sense:


 * As a noun, anything that causes disgust or embarrassment.
 * As a verb, to feel disgusted or embarrassed, sometimes by someone's own past work they previously thought was a good idea to make public.
 * As a reply, an indication that someone disagrees with another person's opinion (and thinks it should be embarrassing the other feels that way).

Cursed - Surreal and off-putting.

Cya - Shortening of the words "see ya".

D
Dank - Synonymous with "awesome" and "cool". Can be used ironically.


 * ... meme - An especially great meme that often has a deeper meaning than regular memes.

Dead meme - A meme that is no longer funny.

Ded - Meme corruption of "dead".

DM - Short for "direct message"

Direct message - A private message that a user can send another and only the sending and receiving users can read.

Directory - A path of folders leading to a file or folder in a computer's file manager app.

Doomer - Somebody with a negative attitude towards the world and believes The End Is Nigh.

E
Earrape or ear rape - When the volume in a video or audio file is turned up to a level higher than necessary. This is done normally to make a meme.

Edge - The virtue of being "cool" through means of association with dark concepts such as death, murder, suicide and suicidal tendencies, depression, violence, and hatred.


 * Edgelord - Someone who is greatly or overly edgy.

Email - Short for "electronic mail". True to its name, email is a form of mail that is sent on electronic devices.

Emoji - A Unicode character that displays an image like a face (😩), animal (🐒), building (🏯), symbol (♎), object (💰), or flag (🏳).

Emoticon - A basic text trick used to form crude faces or objects like swords or dicks.

Evar - Alteration of the word "ever".

F
Fandom - A selection of a greater fanbase often known for its obnoxious and toxic behaviors among themselves and to outsiders.

Fap - Jackin' off.

FFS - Short for "for fuck's sake".

Fkn - Short for "fuckin'".

File - An individual digital entity that contains information that is either used independently (such as images or videos) or in apps alongside other files.

FML - Short for "fuck my life". Used to show dissatisfaction for something the speaker did that makes them regret being born or hatred for their life in general.

Flame war - An immature argument held between at least two people in comment sections.

Following - To show support for to a person and what they do on a website. If you follow someone, you will likely be given the latest on what they've been doing on the website like posting or replying to others' posts.

Folder - A container that stores files on a computer.

Forum - A website divided by topic-based boards where users post on those boards to start threads.

FR - Short for "for real".

Frick - Euphemism of "fuck".

FTFY - Short for "fixed that for you". Not to be confused with "fifty".

FTW - Short for "for the win", meaning "be awesome". Also functions as a sign of approval.

G
GF - "GF" has more than one sense.


 * Short for "girlfriend".
 * Short for "get fucked".

Grammar Nazi - A person who corrects the grammar of others which might be considered a form of trolling.

Grammar police - See grammar Nazi directly above.

Gud - Meme corruption of "good".

H
HMU - Short for "hit/hook me up".

Hotlink - See hyperlink directly below.

Hyperlink - A link that directs a user from one part of a document or page to another.

I
IDGAF/S/RA/D - Short for "I don't give a fuck/shit/rat's ass/damn" respectively.

IDC - Short for "I don't care".

IDK - Short for "I don't know".

IKR - Short for "I know, right?"

ILY - Short for "I love you".

ILYSM - Short for "I love you so much".

ILYVM - Short for "I love you very much".

Imageboard - A website that allows its users to contact each other, sometimes anonymously. To start a thread on an imageboard, the user would upload an image, write a title, and insert an optional description. Replies to this thread don't need images, but can have them if the replying user wants to insert one.

IRL - Short for "in real life".

J
Joo - Alteration of the word "Jew".

K
Kek - A 4chan-borne alternate to "lol".

Key - A button on a keyboard. This extends to digital and old mobile phones' physical keyboards.


 * ...bind(ing) - A combination of keys that acts as a shortcut for an action. A popular example is Ctrl + Z, a shortcut that undoes previously-typed text.

KYS - Short for "kill yourself".

L
LARP - Short for "live-action roleplay". Consists of people often dressing up as characters and roleplaying with others in real life.

Liking - To show support for a post.

Leet - Describes someone who has a ranking that makes them superior to others (as they have awesome skills) or something awesome. Also short for "leetspeak".


 * ...speak - A language used by an predominantly outsider userbase on the early Internet used to communicate with each other and only each other.

Lel - A slightly altered version of "lol".

Live stream or livestream - A real-time broadcast where the hosting user can often interact with and respond to their audience.

LMAO - Short for "laughing my ass off". Used to convey laughter.

Log in - Access a website with an existing account by providing its username and password.

Login - The username and password belonging to an account on a website.

Log out - To remove the login credentials from a website.

Lol - Archaically written LOL and L.O.L. Stood for "laugh out loud" before it became the Internet's version of laughter. Also used to indicate an awkward, harmless mistake made by the speaker. If said out loud by anyone, it is your civil duty to severely punish that person however you can.


 * ...cow - The lulzy subject of Internet people's ridicule who can be "milked" for laughs.
 * ...wut - Used to indicate the speaker laughing, then saying "what?" in confusion.

Lulz - Amusement or fun that is had by the speaker. Lulz often derive from somebody doing something worth mocking.

Lurking - To read posts without replying them.
 * For the... - Because Lel.
 * Lulzy - Noted as a source of lulz; self-embarrassing, especially if applied to a person or action.

M
Mah - See muh below.

Macro - A meme that has words at the top and bottom.

Meme - "Meme" has more than one sense.


 * As a noun, a wide-spread image, video, phrase, song, real-life gesture, or word whose purpose is to be funny.
 * As a verb, when someone participates in the above sense.
 * As an adjective, used to describe something that is (like) the top sense. The adjective form is "memey" or "meme-ass".
 * Memelord - Someone who is associated heavily with memes.

MF - Short for "motherfucker" or "motherfucking".

MLG - Short for "major league gaming". MLG is a professional organization for gaming that was created by eSports. In 2015, MLG memes were popular. These were known to be boisterous memes that were made of many smaller memes. Names of mini-MLG memes are sniper crosshairs, airhorns, Snoop Dogg's "Smoke Weed Everyday" (as well as the associated dance), 360 No-Scope, Rainbow Frog, and pixelated cool glasses.

Moar - Meme alteration of "more".

Muh - Meme alteration of "my".

N
Nevar - Alteration of "never". UnTrash Wiki has a page about this. Sort of.

Newfag - A person who is new to an online community.

Normie - A person who follows social norms (the mainstream) to the point of being boring and interchangeable with anyone else. Also an insult for a person who misuses memes in not knowing how to use it properly.

Nvm - Abbreviated form of "nevermind" or "never mind".

O
OC - "OC" has more than one sense.


 * Short for "original character".
 * Short for "original content".
 * Short for "original commenter".

Oldfag - A veteran in an Internet community. More often refers to somebody with a negative attitude towards newer members.

OMFG - Short for "oh my fucking God".

OMG - Short for "oh my God".

OML - Short for "oh my Lord".

OP - Short for "original poster". The person who begins a thread.

Outsider - Someone whose interests stray from the mainstream and are found in more obscure media and activities.

P
Page - A digital entity that contains information on the Internet that can be accessed by a computer, phone, or laptop with access to the Internet. Also called a webpage.

Pixel - A small square that forms a picture of onscreen objects.


 * ...art - Art that involves pixels being much more visible than other forms of digital art.

Pls - Please.

Plz - See pls directly above.

Posting - To contribute to a website using words, images, or videos.

R
R - Shorthand for "are".

Rando - "Rando" has more than one sense.


 * An unidentified person.
 * In a video game, someone who is randomly matched up with the player.

Ree - A typically long screech that goes "REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE". We have a page about this.

Refreshing - To reload the page the user is currently viewing to show more up-to-date changing info or to fix a minor on-screen problem.

Relatable meme - A meme with a caption and image or that the viewer is expected to find funny as they can relate to the meme.

Replying - To respond to a post.

Reporting - To notify the authority of a website (like an admin) about a user's bad actions (e.g posting hateful content, bullying, spamming...).

Reposting - To post a preexisting post in a different location either on the original website under the reposter's account or on a new site.

Roasting - Rapid-fire insulting.

Roleplaying - To pretend to be a character in a situation who interacts with others in that same scene.

RN - Short for "right now".

S
Sage - Posted word or option meaning to not bump a post on imageboards. Originally pronounced "sa-ge", but it's often pronounced "sayge" by English speakers.

Sharing - To put a link to another website or page somewhere in the form of a post, comment, or message.

Shitpost - Failed Humor (intentional or accidental) in the form of a post, making the post shitty.


 * ...er - Someone whose posts are often considered or can be considered shitposts.

Shortcut - Another term for "keybind".

Sign in - See log in above.

Sign up - To create an account, its username, and its password for the first time.

SMH - Short for "shake/shaking my head".

Spam - "Spam" has more than one sense.


 * To write nonsensical letters like "spidfj msjdpgjm".
 * Unwanted and often annoying emails that are typically auto-categorized by the emailing service as such and sent to a designated folder.

Srs - Shortening of "serious".


 * ...ly - Short for "seriously"
 * bsns - Short for "serious business". We have a page about this.

Stan - A possible portmanteau of the words "stalker" and "fan". This is another term for a Hyperfan.

STFU - Short for "shut the fuck up".

Subscribe - A video-sharing website's version of following.

Succ - Meme alteration of the word "suck".

Sus - Shortened form of "suspicious", either meaning someone is acting or feeling such.

T
TBH - Short for "to be honest".

Tapping - Interacting with an on-screen object using your finger or a stylus. This is commonly and incorrectly called clicking by some people.

Tendies - Chicken tenders.

TF - Short for "the fuck". Also a part of a number of other abbreviations, as this list demonstrates.

TFW - Short for "that/the feel(ing) when".

Thread - A link of related messages in a site's comment or reply section.

Thx - Abbreviated form of "thanks".

TL;DR - Short for "Too Long; Didn't Read". This is used after a long post to summarize what a large section of text is about.

Triggered - Meme form of "angry". Often used in contexts where the subject is upset by a controversial topic.

Tryhard - Somebody who makes a worthless effort at something, typically to be something that they aren't and never will be.

Typo - An accidental instance of Rong Speling.

U
U - Shorthand of "you".

Ur - Shorthand of "your" or "you're".

User - One who uses (the Internet).

V
VC - Short for "voice chat". See List of video game terms for "voice chat".

Vidja - Slang for "video game".

VOD - Short for "video on demand". An archived version of a previous stream that viewers can watch like a regular video.

Vore - Horrific imagery that features one character either in the process of eating or already having eaten another.

W
Waifu - A female character someone has a significant crush on. The term originates from a Japanese word ("わいふ/ワイフ") for "wife". While it keeps its form when plural in its native language, some English speakers write "waifus" to refer to more than one crushed female character.

Wat - See wut below.

WDYM - Short for "what do you mean?"

Webpage - See page above.

Weeaboo - A usually male young person whose obsession over Japanese culture, likely anime, is (considered) obnoxious. Also called a weeb.

Weeb - Shortened version of "weeaboo", seen directly above.

Wiki - A website that provides information to its users with pages that are expected to be in-depth on their topic and link pages to other pages. UnTrash Wiki is obviously one of these. If you didn't know that, well...

Wot - See wut below.

WTF - Short for "what/who/when/where/why the fuck".

Wut - Meme corruption of "what".

Y
Yeet - "Yeet" has more than one sense.


 * As a verb, to throw or launch something. The past tense can either be "yeeted" or "yote", a spin-off meme about the past tense to "yeet".
 * An expression exclaimed when performing the action above.

Yiffing - To fuck an animal.

Z
Zoomer - Someone who was born between the late 90s and early 2010s. A person in this age range would be in their early 20s at the oldest and late single-digits at the youngest today.