LMAO

or LMFAO

abbreviation for

, Slang.

1. laughing my (fucking) ass off; laughed my (fucking) ass off (a euphemistic initialism used to avoid explicit vulgarity).

Word History and Origins

Origin of LMAO¹

From its use in digital communications

About This Word

What does LMAO mean?

LMAO is an abbreviation in digital communications for laughing my ass off. It is used in reaction to something considered extremely funny.

How is LMAO pronounced?

[ el-em-ey-oh ]

What are some variants of LMAO?

lmao

What are some other words related to LMAO?

• LOL
• ROFL
• Lmfao
• wwww

Where does LMAO come from?

The expression to laugh one’s ass off goes back to at least the 1950s, when J.D. Salinger used it in his classic novel The Catcher in the Rye. Similar to expressions like work one’s ass off or laugh one’s head off, the phrase to laugh one’s ass off conveys intensity and extremity—specifically in LMAO‘s case, of tremendous hilarity. In the 1840s, for instance, Charles Dickens jokingly claimed he had “written his head off” in a letter to a friend.

One of the earliest uses of the abbreviated LMAO is a transcript of a game of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons from December 1990. One of the players, playing as their elf character Torquin, uses LMAO at one point during the game. LMAO spread with the rise of the internet and text-messaging in the 1990s.

How is LMAO used in real life?

LMAO is used so frequently in chats and on social media that you can find it almost anywhere on the web and in text messages.

LMAO on all the responses to our wedding planning twits yesterday. Love you guys.

— Kristie Wells (@kristiewells) March 18, 2007

just saw the justin bieber mtv movie awards commercial! lmao aziz was too serious and justin slayed me with the chips

— Stephanie Tannuh (@lifeasmeesh) June 5, 2010

 

In fact, the abbreviation is so popular that the electronic dance music duo LMFAO have said they got their name after their grandmother responded with a more vulgar version of LMAO (LMFAO) after they told her their original idea for a band name: The Sexy Dudes. Perfect call, Grandma.

People sometimes further intensify the sentiment of LMAO but adding strings of Os at the end of the abbreviation, e.g., LMAOOOOO.

LMAO is also sometimes referred to as an internet acronym or initialism.