slang

¹

[ slang ]

noun

1. very informal usage in vocabulary and idiom that is characteristically more metaphorical, playful, elliptical, vivid, and ephemeral than ordinary language, as Hit the road.
2. (in English and some other languages) speech and writing characterized by the use of vulgar and socially taboo vocabulary and idiomatic expressions.
3. the jargon of a particular class, profession, etc.
4. the special vocabulary of thieves, vagabonds, etc.; argot.

   Synonyms: cant

verb (used without object)

1. to use slang or abusive language.

verb (used with object)

1. to assail with abusive language.

slang

²

[ slang ]

verb

, Nonstandard.

1. simple past tense of sling ¹.

slang

/ slæŋ /

noun

1. 1. vocabulary, idiom, etc, that is not appropriate to the standard form of a language or to formal contexts, may be restricted as to social status or distribution, and is characteristically more metaphorical and transitory than standard language
   2. ( as modifier )

      a slang word

2. See jargon
   another word for jargon 1

verb

1. to abuse (someone) with vituperative language; insult

slang

1. Expressions that do not belong to standard written English. For example, “flipping out” is slang for “losing one's mind” or “losing one's temper.” Slang expressions are usually inappropriate in formal speech or writing. ( See jargon .)

Usage Note

See informal.

Derived Forms

• ˈslanginess, noun
• ˈslangily, adverb
• ˈslangy, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of slang¹

First recorded in 1750–60; origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of slang¹

C18: of unknown origin

Example Sentences

In the early days, there was a strong Jewish influence, and much of the underworld’s slang is borrowed from Yiddish.

From Ozy

So he built his own list that includes thousands of proper names, then added to it more slang and contractions to expand it even further.

From TechCrunch

Both fintech startups are unicorns—industry slang for private companies valued at $1 billion or more.

From Fortune

We build our slang, our jokes, our medicine, even our obscenity around the belief that sex and social behavior go together.

From Nautilus

Feel free to use slang with your friends and family, but probably avoid it when you’re communicating with coworkers.

From Popular-Science

Not even Radio Bemba (Cuban slang for the rumor mill) had picked up the signal.

From The Daily Beast

It's a long trip, to be sure, illustrated here with the hypothetical slang "couch."

From The Daily Beast

“I do all this stuff in the community and the haji mart over there,” he said, using the slang for Iraqis used by U.S. soldiers.

From The Daily Beast

Jenna and Tamara (Jillian Rose Reed) her best friend, speak almost exclusively in inside jokes and ever-evolving slang.

From The Daily Beast

To be bad is to be afraid of equality: Behind all the sloganeering and slang, that is the truth of the age.

From The Daily Beast

She has real pretty manners when she is with them, and really tries not to talk slang.

From Project Gutenberg

She did not powder too much, and she had the latest slang at her pink tongue's tip and was yet moderate in her use of it.

From Project Gutenberg

A well-bred person will take care not to use slang words and expressions.

From Project Gutenberg

Notwithstanding the fact that we owe some of our strongest idioms to slang, the free use of slang always vulgarizes.

From Project Gutenberg

His conversation was at all times interlarded with the slang terms appropriated to the science, to which he was so devoted.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• argot
• jargon
• lingo
• patois
• vernacular

More About Slang

Where does slang come from?

Every single person uses slang in one form or another.

Defined as “very informal usage in vocabulary and idiom that is characteristically more metaphorical, playful, elliptical, vivid, and ephemeral than ordinary language,” slang is sorta like the rebellious teen of our vocab.

Appropriately enough, the origin of the word slang is unruly as well. The word is first recorded around 1750–60, and was used early on for the special, secret lingo of the underground, often referred to as thieves’ cant.

One now obsolete theory connected slang to sling, imagining slang as the kind of language that’s tossed or thrown around. Another theory links slang to another sense of slang, meaning a “narrow strip of land,” which became associated with the territory that hawkers traveled and their unique speaking style.

Slang ain’t alone: it finds lots of company in other English words that seem simple but whose origins are not. Discover more in our slideshow “‘Dog,’ ‘Boy,’ And Other Words That We Don’t Know Where They Came From.”

Did you know … ?

Slang can be a single word like cool (“great”) or an expression, such as I feel you (“I relate to you”). Slang is informal and fast-changing. It generally originates within an in-group (especially marginalized communities), and using a slang term is a way of signaling identity in that group.

Because slang is fast-changing and can become quickly outdated, slang words don’t often survive long or pass into the mainstream. There are many exceptions: consider cool, for one. Others quickly become dated. Sorry, on fleek. Today, slang words and phrases often spread—and die out—very quickly thanks to social media.

Because slang is a product of people, place, and time, slang words and phrases are often closely associated with those factors. For example, hearing the slang codswallop or groovy probably makes you think of people from specific places (the U.K.) or time period (the 1960s). And so, we frequently specify slang by its in-group 9e.g., surfer slang, prison slang, Internet slang, military slang).

But keep in mind this other fact about slang: it’s almost always older than you think, because informal language hasn’t historically gotten documented in the written record. For instance, groovy dates back to the 1930s—though it has become closely associated with the 1960s.

As noted, slang is considered a type of informal language—but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily “wrong” or “bad” or “ignorant” language. That said, many slang terms and expressions are offensive, dealing with vulgar or taboo topics.