brat means An aesthetic and vibe — messy, unapologetic, slightly unhinged fun. It's mostly used on TikTok and short-form video. It's casual and generally safe with friends and online. It's standard online vocabulary; nothing inherently concerning about hearing it.
brat
An aesthetic and vibe — messy, unapologetic, slightly unhinged fun.
Etymology timeline
Born ~2024 · no dated citations yetSeen in the wild
Firecrawl: Brat (album) - Wikipedia
" [Apple](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_(song) "Apple (song)")"<br> <br>Released: 2 August 2024 | | | _**Brat**_ is the sixth studio album by British singer [Charli XCX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charli_XCX…
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Firecrawl: What is Kamala Harris' 'brat' rebrand all about? - BBC
Her rebrand comes as Charli showed her support by tweeting "kamala IS brat" shortly after President Joe Biden announced he was stepping out of the race for the White House and endorsed his vice-president.
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Firecrawl: Brat Summer - Wikipedia
In the weeks leading up to the album's release, a wall in [Greenpoint, Brooklyn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenpoint,_Brooklyn "Greenpoint, Brooklyn"), (called the "brat wall" by fans) was painted and repainted w…
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Definitions
Global
+423100%
#1·Apr 24, 2026GlobalCasual
An aesthetic and vibe — messy, unapologetic, slightly unhinged fun. Defined the summer of 2024 via Charli XCX's album. Wearing lime green became a political statement for 12 weeks; "kamala IS brat" briefly united two unrelated universes. Half the internet is still recovering.
See it in action
“Her rebrand comes as Charli showed her support by tweeting "kamala IS brat" shortly after President Joe Biden announced he was stepping out of the race for the White House and endorsed his vice-president.”
"She showed up to a work event with a lime-green nail set. Brat-coded."
Origin: From Charli XCX's album "brat" (June 2024). The lime-green cover aesthetic became the summer's defining meme; Kamala Harris's campaign briefly adopted the visual in July 2024 after Charli tweeted "kamala IS brat."
For parents
brat means An aesthetic and vibe — messy, unapologetic, slightly unhinged fun. It's mostly used on TikTok and short-form video. It's casual and generally safe with friends and online. It's standard online vocabulary; nothing inherently concerning about hearing it.
For ESL learners
"brat" is slang. It means: An aesthetic and vibe — messy, unapologetic, slightly unhinged fun. Register: casual. Use it in: casual conversation and online posts. Avoid in: formal writing and professional emails. A more formal way to say this is "confident and unapologetic".
Cluster: approval
Heard in the wild
“" [Apple](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_(song) "Apple (song)")"<br> <br>Released: 2 August 2024 | | | _**Brat**_ is the sixth studio album by British singer [Charli XCX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charli_XCX "Charli XCX"), released on 7 June 2024 through [Atlantic Records](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Records "Atlantic Records").”
“Her rebrand comes as Charli showed her support by tweeting "kamala IS brat" shortly after President Joe Biden announced he was stepping out of the race for the White House and endorsed his vice-president.”
“In the weeks leading up to the album's release, a wall in [Greenpoint, Brooklyn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenpoint,_Brooklyn "Greenpoint, Brooklyn"), (called the "brat wall" by fans) was painted and repainted with the album's signature green color and various messages.”
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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 Emerging / Viral slang
The slang born in the last two years that's still fighting for legitimacy — clanker, demure, canon event, AI slop, aura farming. Half of these will stick; half will fade by next summer.
See all Emerging / Viral slang on Slangora.
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Other words near "brat" (B)
brass ovariesbrass pounderbrass ratbrass razoobrass ringbrass upbrat arcbrat checkbrat codedbrat corebrat energybrat fail
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Related terms
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Semantically related
- brat summer88%
The summer of 2024, reimagined through Charli XCX's "brat" aesthetic — lime green, messy nights, cigarettes, self-aware chaos. Charli tweeted "kamala IS brat" in July 2024, briefly merging the aesthetic with the Kamala Harris presidential campaign.
- brat girl79%
A girl who embodies the brat aesthetic — confident, messy, fun, a little self-destructive. The anti-clean-girl. Wears lime green, drinks espresso martinis at noon, doesn't reply to texts. Charli XCX coded the archetype; TikTok adopted it within a week.
- brat core76%
Brat core is the aestheticised, content-forward distillation of brat energy — the visual and cultural grammar of neon greens, blurry photos, unedited selfies, messy nights, and impulsive fashion that defines the look and feel of the brat moment. Where 'brat' is the attitude, brat core is the mood board: what it looks like when it's translated into outfit inspo, playlist covers, and TikTok editing styles. The '-core' suffix lifts the vibe into a recognisable aesthetic category that can be referenced, imitated, and tagged.
- brat energy74%
Brat energy is the ambient quality of chaotic, unbothered, unapologetic confidence that radiates from a person, moment, or aesthetic — the feeling you're encountering something that refuses to be managed or polished. It's distinct from effort or performance: brat energy is what happens when someone has stopped trying to curate their image and the resulting mess is somehow more compelling than anything deliberate would have been. The term functions as both a compliment and a diagnosis, observable in fashion choices, social media habits, and general attitude toward accountability.
- brat check73%
A brat check is the self-assessment moment where you audit your recent behavior, aesthetic choices, or overall vibe to determine if it qualifies as brat — the messy, unbothered, hedonistic, unapologetically impulsive energy popularized by Charli XCX's 2024 album. The '-check' frame makes it a test you either pass or fail. Brat checks are often delivered as observations about others too, calling out behavior that's either peak brat or trying too hard to be brat without earning it.