Slang dictionary

lala bop

[lah lah bop]

What does lala bop mean?

The slang term lala bop is typically used derogatorily to refer to a person as being sexually promiscuous, that is, having a number of sexual partners that someone else judges to be too many.

The term lala bop is used in the same way as other derogatory terms that judge a person as being sexually promiscuous. Similar to these other words, lala bop is most often used in reference to women and girls.

The term was popularized through a TikTok trend starting around August 2023 in which people, including tagged TikTok users, were labeled in posts as lala bops. This trend has frequently been criticized as an example of slut-shaming and cyberbullying.

Related words

back to school necklace, #MeToo, ally, attention economy

Where does lala bop come from?

lala bop blue/white text on yellow background

The origin of the term lala bop is unclear. One of the earliest uses of the phrase is from the 2021 song “LALA Bop” by Almighty Rexxo, and the use of the term for the song may be related to the TikTok trend. According to many sources, the lala bop trend began with a now-removed 2022 TikTok video that featured audio of a person repeatedly singing the phrase “lala bop.”

The lala bop TikTok trend seems to have originally begun around November or December 2022. Some TikTok users posted videos calling people lala bops as a way of labeling those people as sexually promiscuous.

The trend increased in popularity on TikTok starting around August 2023, with videos typically containing audio of a person repeatedly singing the term lala bop during a slideshow, beginning with two slides of the phrase lala bop. The final slide shows a picture of a person and an accusatory description of their supposed sexually promiscuous behavior.

After the trend became popular, TikTok responded by widely removing derogatory lala bop videos, banning many accounts that previously posted them, and making it so the hashtag #lalabop produces no results when searched. Currently, most viewable TikTok videos using the term lala bop either criticize the trend or humorously parody the trend’s format by posting positive messages and memes.

Examples of lala bop

This lala bop trend is so concerning. The youngins are out of control falsely accusing each other of things like that.
@oooofatimaoooo, September 4, 2023
"Lala Bop" has appeared primarily in online posts on TikTok and X, formerly known as Twitter. It is also being discussed by concerned parents on Facebook and Instagram, some of whom have shared notices from their children's schools warning caregivers that the term is being used to bully students.
Danielle Campoamor, TODAY, September 22, 2023

Who uses lala bop?

Lala bop was popularized on TikTok and has been most commonly used there.

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Note

This is not meant to be a formal definition of lala bop like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of lala bop that will help our users expand their word mastery.

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