"ANC" means or active noise cancellation. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.
ANC
(audio) or active noise cancellation.
Etymology timeline
Born ~1912 · no dated citations yet20th centurySee decade cohort →
Seen in the wild
Firecrawl: Nelson Mandela and the ANC -- and the choices he made in his ...
The ANC, the African National Congress, has been in power for the last 30 years, ever since Nelson Mandela took office as the country's first Black president.
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Firecrawl: African National Congress - Wikipedia
Political party in South Africa "ANC" redirects here.
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Definitions
Global
#1·Apr 27, 2026Global
(audio) or active noise cancellation.
On November 28 Jane's bloodwork chart provided the exaltation we looked for. The column for ANCs, resolutely 0 day after day, showed the figure 1. The single ANC was evidence that the new marrow was engrafting, beginning to produce a new…
For parents
"ANC" means or active noise cancellation. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.
For ESL learners
"ANC" is informal English meaning or active noise cancellation. It is used widely across English varieties. A more formal or neutral equivalent would be something like "or active noise cancellation" expressed in standard vocabulary. A common mistake is to assume "ANC" can replace its standard equivalent in every register; keep it for spoken or casual situations and use the formal form in writing. If you are a B2 or C1 learner, it is useful to recognise this word when you hear or read it, but think carefully about whether the situation really calls for it before using it yourself.
Heard in the wild
“The ANC, the African National Congress, has been in power for the last 30 years, ever since Nelson Mandela took office as the country's first Black president.”
“Political party in South Africa "ANC" redirects here.”
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For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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🗺️About Regional & Other slang
Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.
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Other words near "ANC" (A)
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