Short forms on the internet abound. By now, you should know what LOL, LMAO, and OMG mean (if you don’t, there’s no helping you).
But new abbreviations, acronyms and initialisms crop up every day, and you might have missed a few of them.
Here’s a definitive* list of every short form on the internet ever (and we’ll try to update it from time to time).
*not definitive at all
FUN FACT: The difference between an initialism and an acronym is all about how you pronounce them.
In an initialism, you pronounce the individual letters – think CIA, DVD, VCR.
Acronyms, instead, are read and spoken as a word – NASA, NAFTA, or hazmat.
Interestingly, what we call abbreviations are actually usually initialisms (now you know!)
The following will be tagged with an (i) for initialism and (a) for abbreviation
AFK
What it means: Away from keyboard
What it really means: Don’t send me anything, I’m not there.
(i)
AMA
What it means: Ask me anything
What it really means: It’s a popular subreddit (read: forum) where celebrities and personalities will answer questions submitted by forum users. Great AMA = great press. Bad AMA = internet shame.
(i)
ATM
What it means: At the moment
What it really means: Hyper-immediate, like literally right now. Or “today”-ish.
(i)
Bamf
What it means: Bad-ass mother f***er.
What it really means: This one’s pretty self-explanatory.
(a)
BFF
What it means: Best friends forever.
What it really means: May or may not be a best friend forever.
(i)
BTW
What it means: By the way
What it really means: By the way
(i)
Bump
What it means: Bump up my post.
What it really means: Used as a way to boost a page’s ranking by putting it higher up on the index. “I like this post and it should be seen by more people, but I have nothing else to say about it.”
(a)
DM
What it means: Direct Message
What it really means: Those annoying email functions on every social media/networking site ever. Alternatively, if you hear “slide into DMs” it means hitting on someone through DM.
(i)
FOMO
What it means: Fear of missing out
What it really means: That feeling when you don’t want to put on real pants and leave the house, but don’t want to miss anything either.
(a)
FYI
What it means: For your information
What it really means: “Just so you know”
(i)
HBU
What it means: How about you?
What it really means: I’m too lazy to ask you a real, insightful question.
(i)
ICYMI
What it means: In case you missed it.
What it really means: Here’s some info or stuff that happened recently but I don’t pretend to be an authority on pop culture and current events or anything but still feel like you should probably have seen this by now but if you haven’t here it is you’re welcome.
(i)
IMO
What it means: In my opinion
What it really means: I’m about to say something racist
(i)
IRL
What it means: In real life
What it really means: Everywhere but the internet
(i)
LMK
What it means: Let me know
What it really means: Please bail on plans, I have 3 more episodes of Stranger Things to watch and I don’t want to put on pants.
(i)
NM
What it means: Not much
What it really means: Either “stop talking to me” or actually “not much”.
(i)
NSFW
What it means: Not safe for work
What it really means: Don’t let your mom check your browser history.
(i)
OP
What it means: Original poster
What it really means: Usually it precedes an insult to OP’s mother. Interestingly, lots of forum or image-sharing sites incorporate an OP-tagging function so you don’t have to scroll to find their name.
(i)
OP (alternative)
What it means: Overpowered
What it really means: When a playable character in a videogame is a little better than the other playable characters. Or the opposing player just isn’t as good. Sorry.
(i)
TBT
What it means: Throwback Thursday
What it really means: It’s a vehicle for showing old photos on social media. It’s a weird faux pas to post them on another day of the week.
(i)
TFW
What it means: That feeling when…
What it really means: It’s a vehicle for what the poster thinks is a great meme.
(i)
TIL
What it means: Today I learned
What it really means: Here’s a fact I didn’t know until today!
(i)
TL;DR
What it means: Too long; didn’t read
What it really means: Your post is too long and you should feel bad. Or, if it’s a heading, “Here’s a summary!”
(i)
