86 Gen Z Slang words and how to use them

The ultimate Gen Z slang list: popular words, lingo and phrases

What's the Gen Z slang for cool? What does yeet mean? What does it mean when someone says bet? And what on earth does iykyk mean? 

If you’re scratching your head at the Gen Z slang that is being thrown around these days, you’re not alone. Deciphering Gen Z slang can feel like learning a new language. And as if the sheer volume of new slang words was not intimidating enough - they can mean different things in different contexts. Use it in the wrong context and you risk embarrassing yourself or even worse - be referred to as cheugy. 

Fear not! We’ve compiled an ultimate list of common Gen Z slang words and phrases. This list includes all the new lingo that you might hear in the office, while grabbing coffee or see floating around on social media. We’ve even included some slang examples on how to use them so that you can navigate this new slang language with confidence. So sit back while we take you through what popular Gen Z slang words are being used today.

1. Ate

Nothing to do with eating but describes when someone delivers on something in a good way and can be used in a variety of contexts, like referring to someone's performance or fashion style.

Example: “She ate that performance - there was an encore.”

2. Amped

Amped is a way to express excitement for something.

Example: "There's a new episode out tonight - I'm so amped"

3. Bae

Similar to the '90s slang word "boo," bae is a shortened word for baby or babe and often is used to refer to a boyfriend or girlfriend. It was common slang before gen z picked it up however and traces back to as early as 2005.

"I'm out with bae tonight."

4. Basic

Basic is used to describe someone who has mainstream, standard, unoriginal taste.

Example: “I’m pretty basic - I like the original.”

5. Bet

Bet means ‘yes’, ‘it’s on’, ‘Ok’ or ‘absolutely’. It can be used as an affirmative statement, when you agree with something, or when there is good news. 

Example: “Friend asks if you’re still keen to meet up on Saturday. You reply “Bet’.

6. Boujee / Bougie

Boujee is the Gen Z word for when something is very fancy or luxurious. 

Example: “The hotel was so boujee, everyone had their own personal butler.”

7. Big Yikes

When something is very embarrassing or cringey, and it warrants more than just a ‘yike’.

Example: “That singing audition didn’t go as he planned…big yikes.”

8. Bruh

Bruh is generally used when you’re shocked or disappointed in something that someone said, did or an event that happened. But also, it can be used to express someone’s excitement of surprise… or generally to address a brother or mate. Confusing? Thought so. Pay attention to the context and demeanour of the person expressing bruh. 

Example: “Bruh, what you did was not cool.”

9. Bussin'

Bussin’ means really good. It can be used to describe food, an event, or anything you think is great. 

Example: “That omelette is absolutely bussin’.

10. Cap / No Cap

Cap is gen z slang that means lie or false. When someone is lying, they are ‘capping’. No cap is the opposite, it means the absolute truth.  

Example: “I definitely saw him do it - no cap.”

11. Cancelled

To stop supporting or boycott something, due to unethical behaviour. 

Example: “This company has been creating tonnes of waste and not doing anything about it, even though they are well aware of their environmental impact. They’re cancelled in my books.”

12. CEO

CEO refers to someone who is the master or expert of something. It can be used in a negative way, for example when you call out someone who is the CEO of something that is negative, e.g. whinging. 

Example: “You came first again! You’re the CEO of that game.”

13. Cheugy

Cheugy, pronounced as chew-gee, is used to describe something which is cringe, not cool or trendy or too try-hard. Definitely not a compliment.

Example: “Those shoes are so last season - so cheugy.”

14. Clap back

A clap back is a sharp and quick response or comeback to criticism or other negative statements. A witty, clever or strong response is more likely to be referred to as a clap back. 

Example: “He clapped back at the statements from the online haters and silenced them.”

15. Clout

Clout is someone’s fame or popularity within the social media space. Someone who has a good clout has a strong following and gets a lot of attention for their posts or online activity. 

Example: “He’s built good clout with 1 million followers on Instagram.”

16. Curve

Curve is when you’re avoiding another person’s romantic advances to them in a non-confrontational way, without fully ignoring them. 

Example: “When he asked her out, she asked him how his parents were doing. Then she said she was running off somewhere and called him bro. Curve.”

17. Dank

Dank is used to refer to anything that is high quality or excellent. Originally, it was used to describe the quality of weed. It has also been used to refer to good memes on the internet. 

Example: “The food was dank except for the fish which was overcooked.”

18. Dead or Ded

When you’re laughing so hard at something you find hilariously funny, you respond ‘I’m dead’. Similar to saying ‘I’m weak’.

Example: “Stop - this is too funny. I’m dead.”

19. Delulu

Delulu is short for ‘delusional’ and is generally used to mean crazy, but in a cute way. Delulu is commonly used in relationships, where somebody in love acts in an irrational way. 

Example: “I must be delulu but I feel like he was giving me signs…he made eye contact with me today in class.”

20. Drip

Drip means cool, often used in the context of  someone having on trend or fashionable style. You can use it to compliment someone’s outfit or different parts of their outfit, e.g. coat, hat, pants, dress. 

Example: “Your shoes are dripping.”

21. Dupe

A dupe is a more affordable version of a more premium or expensive product. It is often used in the beauty industry by influencers, or in the fashion industry, to refer to a more affordable version of a designer bag, accessory or item of clothing from the product catalog.

Example: “These Amazon earrings are such a great dupe for the designer earrings that are all the rage right now and only $20 - I swear I can’t even tell the difference!”

22. Extra

Extra means overly excessive, dramatic or over-the-top. It can be used to describe a person or something. 

Example: That whole wedding was super extra, the flowers themselves must have cost a fortune”.

23. Fam

Fam, derived from family, is used to refer to friends, colleagues or anyone who feels like family or whom you are close to.

Example: “It’s okay fam, we’ll get through this.”

24. Finna

Finna means going to, or you are getting ready to do something. 

Example: “I’m finna order some food for us.”

25. Fire

Fire is used to describe when something is trendy, hot or great.

Example: “Damn girl, that outfit is fire”.

26. Flex

To flex is to show off or brag about something. 

Example: “He’s really flexing the perks he gets at the company.”

27. Gas

Gas is gen z slang for cool, dope or awesome. Alternatively, if you are ‘gassing’ someone, that means you are supporting them or hyping them up. 

Example:

Person 1: “I got into the uni I wanted!”

Person 2: “That’s gas!”

28. Ghosted

Ghosted is used to describe when someone ignores you and doesn't respond to your messages or texts, without telling you. It is often used in the context of dating.

Example: “After a couple of weeks of texting, he suddenly ghosted me.”

29. Giving me life

Used when something is very creating happiness or an otherwise positive feeling like excitement.

Example: “This ice cold coffee on this hot day - it’s giving me life.”

30. Glow up

A glow up describes when someone undergoes a significant transformation and improvement from before. Often used in the context of describing a positive change in one’s physical appearance. 

Example: “I just did a glow up - now I’m ready for the party.”

31. GOAT

GOAT, which stands for Greatest of All Time, is someone who is legendary and admirable. 

Example: “Roger Federer is just the GOAT.”

32. Green Flag / Red Flag

Green flag is a positive sign, whereas a red flag is a negative sign. It is often used in the dating scene to describe whether a potential partner is showing promise or not. 

Example: “He is all green flags - a keeper!”

33. Guap

Guap is money - a lot of it. 

Example: “He gets paid a tonne of guap from the new gig.” 

34. Gucci

Gucci can be used interchangeably as cool, good or excellent. 

Example: Someone tells their friend that their parents let them go to the party. Their friend replies “That’s gucci.”

35. Hits different

When something hits different, it impacts you in a way that is better than in normal circumstances.

Example: “This sauce just changes the entire dish - it just hits different.”

36. Ick

The word ick is used to describe negative feelings towards something and express disgust. Ick is a Gen Z insult.

"I went out with someone last night but they gave me the ick."

37. I’m baby

Used to describe something that you are not good at or a novice at, in a cute way. It can just be used alone to indicate you are childlike, or vulnerable.

Example: “Please don’t be mad…I’m baby.”

38. I’m dead

When the situation is so funny and you are laughing so much, you can exclaim “I’m dead.”

Example: “I can’t believe he said that - too funny…I’m dead.”

39. It’s giving

Giving can be used alone or to describe something as being similar or comparable to something else. When  used alone, “it’s giving” carries positive connotations. It is often used to refer to someone’s fashion.

Example: 

“Your outfit! It’s giving.”

“It’s giving ‘90s fashion.”

40. IRL

IRL stands for “In Real Life”. Use it to describe interactions and experiences in the 'real world', that is, not in the virtual or online world.

Example: “Honestly the couch looks better IRL than on the website. I’m surprised.”

41. It’s sending me

Another phrase you can use when you find something amusing, whether it be a text, meme, video or situation. 

Example: “This video of the cat - it’s sending me.”

42. IYKYK

Abbreviation for “If you know, you know.” Commonly used when there is an insider joke or group of people who know what you’re referring to.

Example: “Invited my parents over to look after the baby and was so excited to get a chance to take a shower. IYKYK.”

43. L / W

L, short for lose, is used to describe a loss or fail. W is short for win, and describe success, victory or generally as a positive remark.

Example: A person has announced online they have been nominated for an award. A friend comments “W.”

44. Let him cook

To let someone cook is not literally to let them cook but to provide space for that person to focus on what they are good at and do their thing. It first originated from a rap song by Lil B and somehow morphed into a viral meme used in different contexts.

Example: “Alright, everyone just needs to step back and let him cook.”

45. Lit

Something lit is exciting, fun, cool. Often used to describe an experience. It can also be used to describe someone as being drunk.

Example: “This party is getting lit!”

46. Living rent free

Living rent free is when something is permanently on your mind - this could be a person or a memory. Generally the phrase is followed by “in my head”. Originally it was used to describe a negative memory, but now it is evolved to be more positive and is used to refer to anything that you are obsessed about. 

Example: “That movie scene is living rent free in my head.”

47. Lowkey / Highkey

To be lowkey is to keep a low profile, or keep on the ‘downlow’. Sometimes used in the context of wanting to not act too eager or seem too enthusiastic about something, even though in reality, you are very excited. The opposite of being lowkey is highkey.

Example: “I lowkey am so keen for the concert on Saturday.”

48. Menty b

Menty b is short for ‘mental breakdown’. It has been used to somewhat normalise and add humor to the prevalence of mental health issues. 

Example: “I’ve had multiple menty b’s this week.”

49. Mid

Something mid is average or even below average or quality.

Example: "Honestly the options at the buffet was pretty mid - was expecting more for the price we paid.”

50. On Fleek

Something is on fleek if it is perfection, generally used to compliment someone’s appearance.

Example: “Look at you! Your eyebrows are on fleek.”

51. Peeps

Peeps is short for people. You would use it informally to refer to a group of individuals like friends, close colleagues, family. 

Example: “It’s time to go. Let’s go peeps.”

52. Periodt

An even more final version of period, used to emphasise the finality of a statement. 

Example: “We’re not going back when we’ve made it so far. Periodt.”

53. Pressed

Used to describe feeling pressure or upset.

"Why are you so pressed about this? It's not a big deal."

54. Ratio

When a social media post, be it a tweet, tiktok or other post, has more replies or comments than likes. This generally describes a situation where the original post attracts a lot of negative comments or criticism and might require content moderation if it's from your own account. 

Example: “Wow, that post got ratioed.”

55. Rizz

Rizz, short for ‘charisma’, describes someone’s ability to charm or attract someone, often in the context of dating and relationships. Rizz can be used in a similar fashion to the slang ‘game’.

Example: “He’s got so much rizz - you should have seen how he got her number.”

56. Slay

Slay is used as verb to refer to someone who has delivered something exceptionally well. It can be used in a way similar to the slang ‘killed it.” It is generally used in the context of fashion or performance as a compliment. You can also use slay as a response to anything cool or awesome. 

Example: “She absolutely slayed that song - her vocals were fantastic!”

57. Salty

Not to be mistaken with how something tastes, ‘salty’ refers to being angry, upset, bitter, irritated or annoyed. It generally comes with negative connotations.

Example: “They’re just salty because they’re jealous.”

58. Savage

Savage is used to describe something as harsh or brutal. 

Example: “Ooft, that feedback was savage.”

59. Say less

Used to let someone you’re talking to say that you already got their point or gist of what they’re saying and there’s no need to provide any further information or details.

Example: 

Person 1: “I think we need to improve on the tone of this article.”

Person 2: “Say less! Will get on it.”

60. Sending me

'Sending me' is often a response to something a person finds hilarious. It's almost like saying something sent you over the edge or it was too much.

"Watch this meme, it's sending me"

61. Shade

To throw ‘shade’ at someone is to disrespect or disapprove of someone. 

Example: “He threw shade at her for her negative comments online.” 

62. Sheesh

An expression to use when you are impressed by something. You can use it to praise someone for looking good or doing something good. 

Example: “Sheesh, you look great.”

63. Shipping

The act of ‘shipping’ is to support two people to be together in a romantic relationship. Often used in the context of fictional characters in movies or novels, or celebrities.

Example: “I really ship the main character and her best friend to be together. They are so cute.”

64. Shook

Shook describes the feeling of being shocked or surprised by something.

Example: “I can’t believe he did that. I’m shook.”

65. Side eye

In social media, a side eye is a response to show you are disapproving, suspicious or sceptical of a situation or person. 

Example: “I can’t believe you don’t like french fries. Side eye.”

66. Simp

Simp is used to describe someone who does way too much for the person they are interested in. It has negative connotations. 

Example: “Look at him, following her like a puppy. He’s such a simp”.

67. Sis

Sis, short for ‘sister’ is used casually to refer to a female friend or sister. 

68. Situationship

A situationship is a romantic relationship that isn’t a committed relationship. 

Example: “We’re just seeing each other right now, we haven’t talked about the serious stuff. It’s kind of a situationship.”

69. Sleeping on

To sleep on is to miss out on something that is important, for example a great job opportunity.

Example: “You should apply as these kind of jobs are rare opportunities - I wouldn’t sleep on it.”

70. Smol

Smol refers to ‘small’ in a cute way. It is frequently used to describe small or baby animals which are extremely adorable. 

Example: “Ah…he’s so smol - I just want to squish his face!”

71. Snack

Used to describe someone who you find attractive. In social media, it is sometimes spelled as snacc.

Example: “He looked like a snack.”

72. Snatched

Another way to compliment someone’s appearance or outfit. Saying they look 'snatched' is to say they look great and ‘on point.’

Example: “She looks so snatched in that dress.”

73. Stan

Stan is a fan or someone and is often used to describe someone who is devoted or obsessed over a celebrity. It is a combination of ‘stalker’ and ‘fan’ but is used in a positive way. It can also be used as a verb, where you describe yourself as fanboying or fangirling 

Example: “She’s a huge stan of Taylor Swift.”

74. Sus

Sus, short for ‘suspicious’, is used to call out questionable, dishonest behaviour.

Example: “She’s acting really sus right now - I don’t trust her”.

75. TBH

TBH, is an acronym for to be honest. You can use it to refer to your real/honest feelings about something.

Example: “TBH, I prefer the other one.”

76. Take a seat

Telling someone to take a seat is telling them to calm down or stop talking, in a dismissive way. 

Example: “You’re not making sense - just take a seat.”

77. Tea

Tea refers to gossip or juicy information. When you’re “spilling the tea”, you are sharing the gossip.

Example: “Are you going to spill the tea or what?”

78. TFW

TFW is simply short for “That Feeling When”.

Example: “TFW you’ve done your workout and had breakfast and it’s only 7am.”

79. Thirsty

Someone who is thirsty is overtly looking for attention or sex.

Example: “He’s so thirsty - look at all the Instagram stories he’s posted of himself at the gym.”

80. Understood the assignment

When someone delivers any task above and beyond expectations, they are said to have ‘understood the assignment.’ 

Example: “Wow, she really understood the assignment with such last minute notice. Incredible job!” 

81. Vibing

Vibing is used to describe having a general positive feeling about something.

Example: “I’m really vibing with this music.”

82. Whole meal

Used to describe someone who looks good.

Example: “Her outfit is on point. She looks like the whole meal.”

83. Wig

Wig is used to express when you’re really excited about something, as if your imaginary wig will fall off.

Example: “I can’t believe Justin Beiber is coming to Sydney on tour. That’s wig!”

84. Woke

To be woke is to be politically aware and conscious about social issues. 

Example: “She’s actively involved in that group and helps organize many of their protests. She’s really woke.”

85. Yeet

Yeet can be used in a few different ways. Yeet can mean excitement or approval of something generally. Or can be used to describe something being thrown with force, and not caring about it. 

Examples:

“I’m keen for the concert. YEET!” 

“He yeeted his tennis racquet across the court.”

86. Mogging

Mogging is about being more attractive than someone else.

Example: "He’s mogging everyone at the party tonight."

Show off your knowledge of Gen Z slang

So there you have it - 86 of the most popular Gen Z slang words and phrases. Finally, you can add the Gen Z word for cool to your vocabulary with this Gen Z language list!

But what if we told you that learning the Gen Z lingo can have wider applications than your everyday conversations?

To get inspired, check out some awesome designs made on Kittl inspired by Gen Z slang which can be printed on t-shirts, posters, mugs, tote bags and more. Perfect for a gift for a friend, a gift for you, or to sell on your online store.

And if you're looking for some more slang words to add to your vocabulary, check out our list of 100+ slang words from the '90s!