Gen Z TikTok core: English Slang Collection

Bet

"Bet literally just means okay, deal, or sounds good. An example would be someone approaches you and they're like, hey, you wanna meet up at seven? And you just go like, bet."

Bet

"Bet means alright or understood. It is used mostly when confirming plans or coming to a mutual understanding. For example, hey, did you see that I put your name down on the guest list? Bet. Thank you."

Bet

"You pulling up to the L stop by 12? I grabbed the Portillo’s order already, so don’t flake. Bet, I’m on my way."

Rizz

"Bro walked up to her, said three words, and she handed him her number. Man has unspoken rizz"

Slay

"Slay. This is basically just used as a term of encouragement to another person, you know, when they made an accomplishment or they're dressed nice or whatever, or, you know, they did something to change their look or whatnot, just in general. Words of encouragement for, you know, something that they've done with their looks or just in general. An example would be, ooh, I love that blue dress you got. Slay."

Slay

"Did you see her outfit today? It absolutely slayed. I am American, I'm from the United States. The definition of slay means that you nailed it. You look amazing. You're confident, iconic, things like that. So your makeup slays, she slayed that performance. Okay, outfit slay."

Slay

"Girl walked into the meeting, presented those numbers, and slayed it so hard they gave her the promotion on the spot"

Mid

"Mid. When something is mid, it's not good. It's not bad. It is leaning towards the bad side. So just mid. It's average. But it's not absolutely horrible. An example would be, nah man, I don't wanna go there. I tried their wings last night and they were mid."

Mid

"Mid means when something is ordinary or not standout. It can be used when describing someone's style or even a restaurant's food. For example, they had good cocktails, but I thought the food was mid."

Mid

"Mid. A term used to refer to something that isn't great but isn't bad either. It's just kind of in the middle. Hey, did you play that new Call of Duty game that came out? Uh, yeah, I mean, gameplay was fun, but overall I thought it was just kind of mid."

Mid

"Bro, that new Marvel movie was so mid I fell asleep halfway through and my popcorn tasted better than the plot twist"

Cap

"He told me he met Beyoncé at the Flatbush bodega. That’s cap. No cap, the clerk was deadass ready to ring up my sad little avocado."

No cap

"No cap is my word for slang. No cap basically means like not lying. An example can be bro, I pretty much just failed the exam, no cap."

No cap

"Bro, I waited an hour in the cold for those Knicks tickets and they still sold out, no cap, I’m sick."

bussin

"That food was bussin. I need another plate. Bussin means extremely good, like really yummy, or like especially with food, especially with food or drinks or something like that. I'm from the United States. I'm American."

Bussin

"Bro, this Lou Malnati’s deep dish is bussin bussin. Grab a slice before it’s gone and we’ll hit the lakefront after, yeah?"

Sus

"Bro, this support DM wants my login and a gift card, proper sus. I’m ignoring it and changing my password right now."

Yeet

"I was so over that essay, dude, I yeeted my laptop onto the couch, grabbed my keys, and hit In-N-Out to cool off."

Fire

"Fire means cool or wicked. It can be said to describe something's popularity or relevance in pop culture. For example, yo those sneakers are nice man, I also like the earrings too, they are fire."

Fire

"Yo, that birria spot on Delancey is fire. I crushed two tacos, hopped on the J to Queens, and was already plotting round two."

Lit

"Lit. When something or someone is out of this world or top tier, it is a synonym of another similar slang word, fire. Example, yo, that party was lit. They really had it going until 2am and the music was awesome."

Lit

"That block party was lit, the DJ kept switching eras, everybody stayed outside, and even the quiet bull from upstairs started dancing."

Ate

"ate, spelt a-t-e, you know, like to eat, is when you cook up something and it's a really good output, whether it be like an outfit, a makeup look, hair, or you just look really, really good that day, or you've made, you've had, it doesn't have to do with looks only, you did an accomplishment, had a milestone, just something really good, means you ate. An example would be, oh my god, I love your prom dress, you really ate in blue."

Ate

"Did you see her solo? She ate and left no crumbs."

Ate and left no crumbs

"Ate and left no crumbs. This is like a whole level up from just ate, complete opposite of you thought you ate, or blank thought blank ate. This is like a whole level up. Whatever you did, or whatever that person did, they did it flawlessly. Whether it be the outfit and or whatever accomplishment they had, ate and left no crumbs. So it was clean. An example would basically be Emma Chamberlain in this year's Met Gala. She was on theme. Literally, Emma Chamberlain ate and left no crumbs with her dress at, you know, for the Met Gala 2026."

Ate and left no crumbs

"Did you see her speech? She ate and left no crumbs, absolutely flawless."

Aura

"aura is basically when someone has like this really like cool energy but they're very like they don't like show it off they're just very chill they basically just have aura an example would be oh my god did you guys see David laid's new video he has so much aura"

Aura

"He caught the ball without looking, that is pure aura."

Aura farming

"Aura farming is basically someone trying to get Aura, someone farming, like you know? Like they're trying to get Aura, they're constantly gaining Aura points basically, they're Aura farming. An example would be, damn guys did you see Brian? Look at the new outfit he's wearing, he's low-key Aura farming."

Aura farming

"He caught the ball one-handed without even looking, pure aura farming."

Based

"He told the whole table he hates small talk and left early, honestly based."

Cringe

"Watching him flirt is so cringe, I had to look away."

Delulu

"Delulu, spelled D-E-L-U-L-U, is basically short for delusional and is typically used in like the relationship manner where, you know, it's like, it's a funny way. It's not a like, like proper like institutional delusion. It's basically picking up like random little hints that you're having from someone you're talking to and going like, oh my god, yeah, he's into me or she's into me or they're into me. An example would be, okay, so Brian asked for my notes last time. And I saw him writing notes in class. So pretty sure he's into me. I'm just delulu."

Delulu

"She's convinced she's gonna bump into Timothée Chalamet at Whole Foods and they'll fall in love on the spot, fully delulu energy right there."

Goated

"That comeback in the final was goated, nobody will top it."

Giving

"Giving means that something is providing vibes associated with a certain mood or feeling. For example, I love your dress. It is giving spring."

Giving

"That pastel jacket with the white sneakers is giving rich auntie at brunch, and honestly nobody in this group is mad about it."

It's giving

"It's giving. Basically when something resembles something else, so let's say someone's wearing like a yellow orange top. Someone else could say, and you know, it resembles like the shade of mac and cheese, orange yellow. Someone could say, oh, it's giving mac and cheese. Can be used as a compliment, could be used as a roast, literally anything. An example would be, ooh, love your striped outfit. It's giving mime."

It's giving

"Your new sunglasses are giving bodega security vibes, deadass. Pull up to brunch in SoHo like that and everyone’s gonna stare."

Ick

"Ick. Spelt I-C-K. This is something that someone can do that can turn you off. This is basically more in like the romantic setting. So, an example could be, oh my God, so we were swimming and then I dove down under the pool to just, you know, take a dive. And I saw him trying to stay afloat. His legs were wobbling all weird. Such an ick."

Ick

"He called the waiter chief and I caught the ick on the spot."

Slaps

"Turn it up, this track absolutely slaps."

Sheesh

"Sheesh, you ran the whole marathon without stopping?"

"w just a letter w is basically a win so you can say w in the chat w literally just used for anything like you know after winning a game or literally just having like any small accomplishment an example would be oh my god guys i just got my favorite palette and it's literally i got the last piece it was almost sold out w"

W

"Free pizza at work today, big W."

"L is the complete opposite of W. It's basically loss or, you know, also can be turned, you know, coined as loser, but it's more of loss. So maybe just throw it around when, you know, someone doesn't do something right or they fail at something, you just say L. Or like something doesn't go their way, just L, like that's it. An example from me would be, sorry, oh my God, guys, I literally woke up 30 minutes late and I just missed my flight. I hate it here. I'm just going to take the L."

L

"Missed the flight, dropped my phone in the airport toilet, and paid eighteen bucks for stale chips. Massive L, I am going home spiritually barefoot."

Periodt

"This is the best pizza in town, periodt."

Ong

"Ong, I waited two hours and they never showed."

Fr

"That exam was brutal, fr."

Ngl

"Ngl, I forgot we even had plans tonight."

Tbh

"Tbh, I would rather stay in tonight."

Smh

"They cancelled at the last second again, smh."

Iykyk

"We’re meeting at the place with the green door, two pints in by half nine, iykyk."

Rn

"Can't talk, I'm in a meeting rn."

bffr

"BFFR basically means be fucking for real, you know, like be for real, be serious. An example would be, I know you did not just text him right now, BFFR."

Bffr

"I know you did not text your ex after stalking his story for two hours, bffr, put the phone down and drink some water."

Valid

"Valid means okay, that's good, basically it's an agreement. Good, acceptable, approves, all of that, that's basically what valid means. An example would be, guys, here's my hot take on colors. Orange and navy blue actually go pretty well together. You just need to have like the right shades. And then someone will go like, oh yeah, valid."

Valid

"Skipping the party to rest? Totally valid."

Unserious

"He showed up to the gym in a full suit, this man is unserious."

Unhinged

"Did you see her reply? Completely unhinged and I love it."

Cook

"Cook, or to cook, is basically you working towards something pretty good. Whether that be like a job, or money, or, you know, a relationship. To cook is basically to work for it in like a positive manner. An example would be... Oh wait, is that Hudson Williams over there? Calm down, let me cook."

Cook

"Everybody was clowning Marcus for sketching business ideas at lunch, then he grinned, shut the laptop halfway, and said chill, let me cook for a sec."

Let him cook

"Stop backseat gaming and let him cook, he knows this level."

Serve

"Every outfit this week, she is serving."

Understood the assignment

"understood the assignment so you can say I understood the assignment he understood she understood they understood or you know a person's name understood the assignment basically they did very well in anything, in something they outdid themselves you know stuff like that let's say maybe there was like a dress competition and they like dressed really well could be anything an example would be oh my god she matched her nails to her shoes she understood the assignment"

Understood the assignment

"Every guest dressed to the theme but she understood the assignment and stole the night."

Glaze

"Glaze, or to glaze someone, glazing someone, basically means to like over praise someone, over compliment someone, talk about them in a really good way, but like a lot. An example would be, oh my god Jeremiah, you've been talking about Professor Thompson for like hours, stop glazing him bro."

Glaze

"We get it, you love the guy, stop glazing him in every comment."

NPC

"He just repeats whatever the news says, total NPC behaviour."

Sigma

"He ate lunch alone facing the window again, proper sigma behaviour."

Mog

"Mog. Basically to mog someone. Mogging someone. It's basically to outdo someone in terms of looks, attractiveness, physique, etc. An example could be, man, I totally mog you. Your jawline doesn't even exist."

Mog

"Bro posted one gym selfie and fully mogged the whole group chat, now everybody's acting weird and booking barbershop appointments for Friday."

Fanum tax

"I bought one bag of crisps and he took half, absolute fanum tax."

6-7

"6-7, this one's infamous. More in Gen Alpha, I would say, than Gen Z, but Gen Z use it in an ironic way. Doesn't really have a meaning, to be honest. Literally can just be said out of the blue, with, you know, the hand motions of your left and right hands, you know, going up and down a little bit, with your palms facing upwards. It actually comes from a song called Doot Doot by Skrillex. Literally it has no meaning at all, can just be randomly said. And yeah, literally just 6-7, that's an example."

6-7

"Teacher starts talking about taxes, Jay just hits the palms up thing and goes 6-7, and the whole class loses it for absolutely no reason."

Snatched

"We pulled up to the rooftop in Chelsea and everyone stopped, deadass. Your liner’s snatched, the fit’s clean, and the photos are gonna go crazy."

Shook

"She told me she’s moving out tomorrow, already found a new spot, and left the keys at the bodega. I’m shook, deadass."

Lowkey

"I lowkey want In-N-Out again, but I’m pretending I’m over it. Hit me if you’re down, we’ll go before the line gets wild."

highkey

"I'm high-key obsessed with this song. High-key can mean, like, very openly, feeling very strongly, like it's well known about you or about this topic. I'm American. I'm from the United States."

Gen Z TikTok core

Voices of the people