Slang time machine
Every English slang term has a moment it first showed up in print or on someone's lips. We've tagged 1,000 terms with a first attested decade — from 18th-century thieves’ cant through to 2020s internet vocabulary. Pick a decade below.
2010s — 132 terms
Showing top 120 by views10
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hallucination
2018⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊situationship
2010💘 Relationships & Dating
🔊yeet
2014🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊touch grass
2016🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊the ick
2017🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊red flag
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊ratio
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
twitter
🔊poggers
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
twitch
🔊living rent free
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊era
2010🚀 Emerging / Viral
tiktok
🔊ghosting
2018💘 Relationships & Dating
🔊vibe check
2019🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊W
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊catfish
2010💘 Relationships & Dating
🔊soft life
2016🌱 Lifestyle & Wellness
🔊💀
2019✨ Emoji & Symbols
texting
🔊cuffing season
2018💘 Relationships & Dating
🔊love bombing
2018💘 Relationships & Dating
🔊Stanley cup
2016🍔 Food & Drink
tiktok
🔊amapiano
2012🎵 Music & Lyrics
🔊bed rot
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊delulu
2010🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊based
2010🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊bop
2016🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊flex
2019🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊sigma
2010🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
fourchan
🔊GG
2017🎮 Gaming
discord
🔊L
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊beige flag
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊simp
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
discord
🔊🔥
2010✨ Emoji & Symbols
texting
🔊caught in 4k
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊iykyk
2018🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊green flag
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊main character energy
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊ate and left no crumbs
2018🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊cook
2010🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊ohio
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊sweat
2018🎮 Gaming
discord
🔊carry
2010🎮 Gaming
discord
🔊gatekeep
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊boujee
2016🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊big yikes
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊MVP
2011⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊NPC
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊valid
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊bffr
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊cheugy
2013🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊deepfake
2017⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊🧢
2018✨ Emoji & Symbols
texting
🔊noob
2017🎮 Gaming
irc
🔊superintelligence
2014⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊phonk
2017🎵 Music & Lyrics
tiktok
🔊hyperpop
2019🎵 Music & Lyrics
bluesky
🔊EZ
2017🎮 Gaming
discord
🔊cracked
2019🎮 Gaming
discord
🔊context window
2018⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊world model
2018⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊git gud
2010⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊G Fuel
2012🎮 Gaming
discord
🔊inference
2010⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊cottagecore
2018👗 Fashion & Lifestyle
tiktok
🔊fine-tuning
2018⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊🤝
2010✨ Emoji & Symbols
texting
🔊🤨
2018✨ Emoji & Symbols
texting
🔊Spotify Wrapped
2016🎵 Music & Lyrics
bluesky
🔊green-flag spotting
2018💘 Relationships & Dating
🔊🙄
2015✨ Emoji & Symbols
texting
🔊dark academia
2014👗 Fashion & Lifestyle
tiktok
🔊👑
2010✨ Emoji & Symbols
texting
🔊🦋
2010✨ Emoji & Symbols
texting
🔊walking date
2018💘 Relationships & Dating
🔊🤓
2015✨ Emoji & Symbols
texting
🔊yerrr
2019🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊drill
2011🎵 Music & Lyrics
🔊boo
2018💘 Relationships & Dating
🔊dunking
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
twitter
🔊drip
2017🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊chronically online
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊golden retriever boyfriend
2018💘 Relationships & Dating
🔊group-chat approval
2018💘 Relationships & Dating
🔊ASMR
2010🚀 Emerging / Viral
tiktok
🔊self-own
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊understood the assignment
2010🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊in my feelings
2018🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊butter board
2017🍔 Food & Drink
tiktok
🔊benching
2018💘 Relationships & Dating
🔊flexing
2010🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊glow up
2013🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊cringe
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊shook
2010🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊ragequit
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊dry spell
2018💘 Relationships & Dating
bluesky
🔊dry texter
2018💘 Relationships & Dating
🔊talking stage
2018💘 Relationships & Dating
🔊receipts
2010🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊BeyHive
2011🎵 Music & Lyrics
🔊periodt
2010🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊algospeak
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊shadow ban
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊living for this
2010🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊the algorithm
2010🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊distillation
2015⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊big mad
2010🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊salty
2010🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊plugg
2016🎵 Music & Lyrics
🔊orbiting
2018💘 Relationships & Dating
🔊finsta
2015🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊SoundCloud rap
2015🎵 Music & Lyrics
🔊sliding into DMs
2018💘 Relationships & Dating
🔊clout chaser
2018💘 Relationships & Dating
🔊mother
2010🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊throwing
2010🎮 Gaming
discord
🔊down bad
2018💘 Relationships & Dating
bluesky
🔊third wheel
2018💘 Relationships & Dating
bluesky
🔊milkshake duck
2016🌐 Internet & Memes
twitter
🔊the girls are fighting
2010🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊dry humor
2010🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊not me
2010🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊A2A
2010⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊More on how slang travels through time
The lifecycle of a slang word
Mint, scale, ironize, retire — how every viral term moves through the same five stages.
Where slang is born now
The platforms and subcultures that mint vocabulary in 2026 — and why TikTok shifted everything.
AAVE and internet slang
The single biggest source of new mainstream English vocabulary, and why most of the words you used today started here.
Attestation dates come from etymologies originally sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0) and editorial expansion authored on Slangora. They reflect the earliest documented use we found for each term, not necessarily the moment it was coined.