Slang
noun
A type of language made up of informal words and phrases known and used by a particular group of people.
Texting abbreviations are an example of modern slang.
Often appears as...
- street slang
- teenage slang
Usage tips
Informal
Colloquial
noun
The use of informal and unofficial words or phrases that are not part of standard vocabulary.
The latest slang among young people can be hard to keep up with.
Often appears as...
- use slang
- spread slang
Usage tips
Informal
Colloquial
verb
To use informal and unofficial words or phrases in speech or writing.
He's always slanging with his friends.
Often appears as...
- slang words
- slang terms
Usage tips
Informal
Colloquial
noun
A type of language made up of informal words and phrases known and used by a particular group of people.
Texting abbreviations are an example of modern slang.
Often appears as...
- street slang
- teenage slang
Usage tips
Informal
Colloquial
noun
The use of informal and unofficial words or phrases that are not part of standard vocabulary.
The latest slang among young people can be hard to keep up with.
Often appears as...
- use slang
- spread slang
Usage tips
Informal
Colloquial
verb
To use informal and unofficial words or phrases in speech or writing.
He's always slanging with his friends.
Often appears as...
- slang words
- slang terms
Usage tips
Informal
Colloquial
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Group Specific
Slang varies between groups, often reflecting their shared experiences and values.
Skaters have their own slang to describe tricky moves.
Pro Tip 2/3Evolving Language
Slang words can change meaning over time or fall out of use.
The slang 'groovy' was popular in the '60s but is seldom used now.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Universal
What's slang in one region or country might not be understood in another.
Australian slang can be confusing to English learners from other countries.
Pro Tip 1/3Group Specific
Slang varies between groups, often reflecting their shared experiences and values.
Skaters have their own slang to describe tricky moves.
Pro Tip 2/3Evolving Language
Slang words can change meaning over time or fall out of use.
The slang 'groovy' was popular in the '60s but is seldom used now.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Universal
What's slang in one region or country might not be understood in another.
Australian slang can be confusing to English learners from other countries.
Pro Tip 1/3Group Specific
Slang varies between groups, often reflecting their shared experiences and values.
Skaters have their own slang to describe tricky moves.
Pro Tip 2/3Evolving Language
Slang words can change meaning over time or fall out of use.
The slang 'groovy' was popular in the '60s but is seldom used now.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Universal
What's slang in one region or country might not be understood in another.
Australian slang can be confusing to English learners from other countries.
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Video examples
Male Hummingbirds Sing...
us because they're one of three groups which are known to learn their vocalizations so we humans take learning for granted because we use it all the time when learning speeches youngsters and learning new slang as adults in Hmong birds though and among animals in general it's a relatively rare
Video examples
Uber's plan to get more...
and he saw trolleys with long lines of people trying to get to where they wanted to go. He said, well, why don't I just put a sign on my car that takes people wherever they want to go for a jitney -- that was slang for a nickel. And so people jumped on board,
Video examples
Adam Garone: Healthier...
So then there was a lot more beers, and then the day ended with a challenge to bring the mustache back. So in Australia, "mo" is slang for mustache, so we renamed the month of November "Movember" and created some pretty basic rules, which still stand today.
Video examples
A global hackathon to...
so um also um what's really cool about this is that it understands slang like when when the kids talk to it you know it understands what uh what the kid is asking and also it and the main thing that i really really adore is that it actually leaves the
Video examples
How to get a word added...
they dictated how words should be used, rather than documenting the way people actually used language in daily life. When Webster broke this convention and included slang words in his dictionary, critics accused him of polluting the English language.
Video examples
Lemon Andersen performs...
Reggie stopped becoming the best to me, because what Etheridge Knight taught me was that I could make my words sound like music, even my small ones, the monosyllables, the ifs, ands, buts, whats, the gangsta in my slang could fall right on the ear,
Video examples
Mysteries of vernacular:...
from this subsiding verb, our modern meaning of fizzle developed as slang in the 1800s. Originally used on college campuses to describe failure, specifically on an exam, it wasn't long before the word came to mean exactly what it does today
Video examples
Why do people join...
That grizzly image has since been immortalized as shorthand slang for single-minded cult-like thinking, "They drank the Kool-aid." Today, there are thousands of cults around the world. It's important to note two things about them.
Video examples
Uncovering a radical...
billion people in the developing world who lack access to electricity another aspect that really excites me is how cheap these can be made these thin slang films are made by mixing two inexpensive readily abundant salts to
Video examples
Anne Curzan: What makes...
important gaps in the English language. But how real are they if we use them primarily as slang and they don't yet appear in a dictionary?
Video examples
Male Hummingbirds Sing...
us because they're one of three groups which are known to learn their vocalizations so we humans take learning for granted because we use it all the time when learning speeches youngsters and learning new slang as adults in Hmong birds though and among animals in general it's a relatively rare
Video examples
Uber's plan to get more...
and he saw trolleys with long lines of people trying to get to where they wanted to go. He said, well, why don't I just put a sign on my car that takes people wherever they want to go for a jitney -- that was slang for a nickel. And so people jumped on board,
Video examples
Adam Garone: Healthier...
So then there was a lot more beers, and then the day ended with a challenge to bring the mustache back. So in Australia, "mo" is slang for mustache, so we renamed the month of November "Movember" and created some pretty basic rules, which still stand today.
Video examples
A global hackathon to...
so um also um what's really cool about this is that it understands slang like when when the kids talk to it you know it understands what uh what the kid is asking and also it and the main thing that i really really adore is that it actually leaves the
Video examples
How to get a word added...
they dictated how words should be used, rather than documenting the way people actually used language in daily life. When Webster broke this convention and included slang words in his dictionary, critics accused him of polluting the English language.
Video examples
Lemon Andersen performs...
Reggie stopped becoming the best to me, because what Etheridge Knight taught me was that I could make my words sound like music, even my small ones, the monosyllables, the ifs, ands, buts, whats, the gangsta in my slang could fall right on the ear,
Video examples
Mysteries of vernacular:...
from this subsiding verb, our modern meaning of fizzle developed as slang in the 1800s. Originally used on college campuses to describe failure, specifically on an exam, it wasn't long before the word came to mean exactly what it does today
Video examples
Why do people join...
That grizzly image has since been immortalized as shorthand slang for single-minded cult-like thinking, "They drank the Kool-aid." Today, there are thousands of cults around the world. It's important to note two things about them.
Video examples
Uncovering a radical...
billion people in the developing world who lack access to electricity another aspect that really excites me is how cheap these can be made these thin slang films are made by mixing two inexpensive readily abundant salts to
Video examples
Anne Curzan: What makes...
important gaps in the English language. But how real are they if we use them primarily as slang and they don't yet appear in a dictionary?
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Nancy Gibbs
American Journalist
All our efforts to guard and guide our children may just get in the way of the one thing they need most from us: to be deeply loved yet left alone so they can try a new skill, new slang, new style, new flip-flops. So they can trip a few times, make mistakes, cross them out, try again, with no one keeping score.
Quote examples
Kaui Hart Hemmings
American Writer
I like to add props to render the specificities of place - paintings, food, clothing, signs, infrastructure, music, sayings and slang particular to the region and particular to the character. And props shouldn't just sit there; they should get used.
Quote examples
Alex Horne
British Comedian
I was inspired by 'Bootylicious' being able to scale the dictionary walls thanks to just one individual, Beyonce. But Beyonce has the world's ears, so what I had to do was to work my word - which is 'honk', as slang for money, really really hard.
Quote examples
Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Surinamese Athlete
Dutch is our first language. When you talk to older people, you speak Dutch. It's more respectful. The local language, you talk with your friends. You don't talk to your parents like that with the local slang.
Quote examples
Corita Kent
American Artist
Words have life and must be cared for. If they are stolen for ugly uses or careless slang or false promotion work, they need to be brought back to their original meaning - back to their roots.
Quote examples
E-40
American Musician
I make up many words but we can go on for forever about slang words that E-40 created. That has always been one of my things since was youngster. I have always being creative with my words.
Quote examples
Roy Clark
American Entertainer
The only thing that kept us from going bigger worldwide was the language barrier. All the corn that we did on 'Hee Haw,' it was hard to translate into their slang.
Quote examples
Susie Dent
English Scientist
Booze' was once a popular term in the slang or 'cant' of the criminal underworld, which may explain its rebellious overtones today.
Quote examples
Carl Sandburg
American Poet
The sea speaks a language polite people never repeat. It is a colossal scavenger slang and has no respect.
Quote examples
Henry David Thoreau
American Author
It is too late to be studying Hebrew; it is more important to understand even the slang of today.
Quote examples
Nancy Gibbs
American Journalist
All our efforts to guard and guide our children may just get in the way of the one thing they need most from us: to be deeply loved yet left alone so they can try a new skill, new slang, new style, new flip-flops. So they can trip a few times, make mistakes, cross them out, try again, with no one keeping score.
Quote examples
Kaui Hart Hemmings
American Writer
I like to add props to render the specificities of place - paintings, food, clothing, signs, infrastructure, music, sayings and slang particular to the region and particular to the character. And props shouldn't just sit there; they should get used.
Quote examples
Alex Horne
British Comedian
I was inspired by 'Bootylicious' being able to scale the dictionary walls thanks to just one individual, Beyonce. But Beyonce has the world's ears, so what I had to do was to work my word - which is 'honk', as slang for money, really really hard.
Quote examples
Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Surinamese Athlete
Dutch is our first language. When you talk to older people, you speak Dutch. It's more respectful. The local language, you talk with your friends. You don't talk to your parents like that with the local slang.
Quote examples
Corita Kent
American Artist
Words have life and must be cared for. If they are stolen for ugly uses or careless slang or false promotion work, they need to be brought back to their original meaning - back to their roots.
Quote examples
E-40
American Musician
I make up many words but we can go on for forever about slang words that E-40 created. That has always been one of my things since was youngster. I have always being creative with my words.
Quote examples
Roy Clark
American Entertainer
The only thing that kept us from going bigger worldwide was the language barrier. All the corn that we did on 'Hee Haw,' it was hard to translate into their slang.
Quote examples
Susie Dent
English Scientist
Booze' was once a popular term in the slang or 'cant' of the criminal underworld, which may explain its rebellious overtones today.
Quote examples
Carl Sandburg
American Poet
The sea speaks a language polite people never repeat. It is a colossal scavenger slang and has no respect.
Quote examples
Henry David Thoreau
American Author
It is too late to be studying Hebrew; it is more important to understand even the slang of today.
Example 1 of 10
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