Short for 'direct messages'. Discord, Twitter, Instagram, and most other platforms have DMs. 'Slide into the dms' became a 2010s flirtation meme (sending a private message to express romantic interest). 'Open/closed dms' refers to whether non-friends can message you. 'Don't DM me about this' is a common chat etiquette ask.
questions about the schedule, hit my dms
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Viral internet speak — memes, ratios, main-character moments, and the algospeak of every platform from Twitter to Reddit to TikTok comment sections.
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The act of sending a direct message — usually flirtatious — to someone you barely know on social media, hoping to start something. "He slid into her DMs after she posted that beach photo." A specific 2010s+ DM-app maneuver; success rate famously low; persistence required.
(Internet slang, idiomatic) To confidently and coolly send a direct message to someone by means of social media, especially with romantic or sexual intentions.
(AU, colloquial) An earnest conversation covering emotional topics, often as a smaller side conversation at a social occasion.
(AU, colloquial) To participate in a D&M.
Private message. A direct, one-to-one message inside a forum, game lobby or chat platform — equivalent to a DM on Twitter or Instagram. Common on older platforms (vBulletin, IRC, Reddit) and most multiplayer games. Often used as a verb: "PM me your address".