Youth slang words
10 American Slang
words
You Need to Know
Learning American slang is a great way to sound more like a native speaker and understand casual conversations. Here are 10 common slang words with their definitions, example sentences, and a little bit about their origins.
1. Dope
* Definition: Excellent, very cool, or impressive.
* Examples:
* "That new video game is absolutely dope."
* "She got a dope new pair of shoes."
* "The concert last night was so dope, the band was incredible."
* Origin: The word "dope" has been used in various contexts, but its current slang meaning of "cool" became popular in the hip-hop community in the 1980s.
2. Lit
* Definition: Amazing, exciting, or a lively and fun party or event.
* Examples:
* "The party last night was lit, everyone was dancing."
* "Her new song is so lit, I can't stop listening to it."
* "This whole weekend is going to be lit."
* Origin: "Lit" has been used to describe being drunk for a long time, but its modern meaning of "awesome" or "exciting" became widespread in the 2010s, also popularized by hip-hop culture.
3. Salty
* Definition: Annoyed, bitter, or upset about something trivial.
* Examples:
* "He's been salty ever since he lost the game."
* "Don't be so salty, it was just a joke."
* "She's a little salty because she didn't get invited to the party."
* Origin: The term "salty" to mean angry or bitter dates back to the late 19th century. One theory is that it comes from the idea of a sailor "salty" from the sea being irritable, but it more likely refers to the bitterness of salt itself.
4. Ghosting
* Definition: Abruptly ending communication with someone (usually a romantic partner or friend) without explanation.
* Examples:
* "I thought we had a great date, but he's ghosting me now."
* "It's really rude to ghost someone after you've been texting for weeks."
* "I'm not sure why she just disappeared; she totally ghosted me."
* Origin: This term became popular in the mid-2010s with the rise of online dating and social media, reflecting a modern way of ending a relationship.
5. Spill the Tea
* Definition: To share juicy gossip or interesting news.
* Examples:
* "Come on, spill the tea! What happened at the meeting?"
* "I heard you have some major news. You've got to spill the tea."
* "She's always the first one to spill the tea about what's going on."
* Origin: The word "tea" as slang for gossip likely originated in African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) and became widely known in the 1990s and 2000s, popularized by drag culture.
6. Low-key
* Definition: Quiet, subtle, understated; also used to mean "a little bit" or "secretly."
* Examples:
* "I want to have a low-key birthday party this year, just a few friends."
* "I'm low-key obsessed with that new show."
* "He's low-key a really good singer, but he's too shy to perform."
* Origin: The term "low-key" has been around for decades, but its current usage as an adverb ("low-key wanting a pizza") gained traction in the early 21st century.
7. High-key
* Definition: The opposite of low-key; openly, very, or without a doubt.
* Examples:
* "I'm high-key in love with this new coffee shop."
* "She high-key wants to be the center of attention."
* "That movie was high-key one of the best I've ever seen."
* Origin: "High-key" emerged as a direct antithesis to "low-key" in the mid-2010s, becoming a popular term on social media.
8. Bet
* Definition: An enthusiastic agreement or confirmation. It can mean "yes," "I'm in," or "for sure."
* Examples:
* "Do you want to grab dinner tonight?" "Bet."
* "We're meeting at 7, okay?" "Bet, I'll be there."
* "Let's go to the gym after work." "Bet, I need to go anyway."
* Origin: "Bet" has been used as a shortened form of "you bet" for a while, but its current, single-word usage as an affirmation became popular in the 2010s.
9. Ripped
* Definition: Having well-defined, muscular body; very fit.
* Examples:
* "He's been working out so much, he's totally ripped now."
* "All the actors in that superhero movie are ripped."
* "I'm trying to get ripped for the summer."
* Origin: This term has been used to describe muscular physiques since at least the 1980s, possibly from the idea of muscles "ripping" through the skin.
10. Stan
* Definition: An obsessive fan of a celebrity, band, or public figure. It can be used as a noun or a verb.
* Examples:
* "I'm a huge stan of that singer; I know all the lyrics to her songs."
* "She totally stans that actor and has a whole fan page dedicated to him."
* "Don't even try to debate with a stan, they will defend their idol to the death."
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