"MAC" means , formerly, one of three former divisions of the us airforce, the others being sac and tac. 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.
MAC
(US, _, military) , formerly, one of three former divisions of the US airforce, the others being SAC and TAC.
Etymology timeline
Born ~1960 · no dated citations yetSeen in the wild
For other uses, see [Mac](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_(disambiguation) "Mac (disambiguation)").
MAC is an acronym for _Make-Up Art Cosmetics_.
For other uses, see [Mac OS (disambiguation)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_(disambiguation) "Mac OS (disambiguation)") and [Macos (school)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macos_(school) "Macos (school)").
Definitions
(US, _, military) , formerly, one of three former divisions of the US airforce, the others being SAC and TAC.
"MAC" means , formerly, one of three former divisions of the us airforce, the others being sac and tac. 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.
"MAC" is informal English meaning , formerly, one of three former divisions of the us airforce, the others being sac and tac. It is mainly used in North American English. A more formal or neutral equivalent would be something like "" expressed in standard vocabulary. A common mistake is to assume "MAC" 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.
Comments
(networking) : the portion of Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802.11 wireless, Bluetooth, FDDI, ATM, and Fibre Channel networks that controls which hardware devices have access to the media over which signals are sent.
When operating on customer MAC (C-MAC) and service MAC (S-MAC) addresses, PBB uses a new backbone MAC (B-MAC) address. The B-MAC address is added at the edge of the PBB network, that is administered by a carrier VPN or a carrier-of-carri…
“For other uses, see [Mac](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_(disambiguation) "Mac (disambiguation)").”
“MAC is an acronym for _Make-Up Art Cosmetics_.”
“For other uses, see [Mac OS (disambiguation)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_(disambiguation) "Mac OS (disambiguation)") and [Macos (school)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macos_(school) "Macos (school)").”
Comments
(chemistry) , the maximum concentration of a pollutant which is considered harmless to healthy adults during their working hours, assuming they breathe uncontaminated air at all other times.
When operating on customer MAC (C-MAC) and service MAC (S-MAC) addresses, PBB uses a new backbone MAC (B-MAC) address. The B-MAC address is added at the edge of the PBB network, that is administered by a carrier VPN or a carrier-of-carri…
Comments
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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