Top 250+ Text Abbreviations, Acronyms and Short Form Words

This article guides you through over 250 standard chat abbreviations, enhancing messaging efficiency in casual conversations and professional exchanges. Understanding these abbreviations is vital to keeping up with fast-paced communication trends and ensuring clarity in personal and business interactions.

Do you know your LMK from your IDK or even your IDC? Text abbreviations are so commonly used these days that they seem to be a language all of their own. The modern-day A to Z abbreviation list is so long that one could probably make it into a full-fledged dictionary!

Although you must be familiar with some texting lingo, you wouldn't be the only one absolutely clueless about some strange, suddenly-popular acronyms and chat abbreviations here and there.

In this article, we've listed over 250 most common abbreviations in chat that are used by people of all ages, along with their meanings. Use these to save time talking to friends and family or sending that special message on Valentine's Day. There's also a specific list of texting abbreviations for business messaging. But first, here's an explainer of the basics.

What are text abbreviations and acronyms?

Text abbreviations are short forms of words or phrases. There are many types of abbreviations.

One type is acronyms. These are abbreviated words that are formed from the first letters of each word in a phrase. You can also easily say them out loud like any other word. For instance, 'NASA' and 'POTUS' are common abbreviations in English that don't sound silly when spoken aloud.

But then there's another type called initialisms. Let's take two abbreviation examples, IKR and OMG. Try pronouncing them like regular words with a straight face. You can't. You'll have to spell each letter, like eye-kay-are and oh-em-jee.

Are formal and slang text acronyms and abbreviations really that useful?

This texting shorthand is often used in text messages, i.e., SMS and MMS messages, which have a fixed character limit. You have to get your message across without exceeding this limit.

(For instance, you only have 160 characters to play with in an SMS text message – any more, and you'll end up sending multiple texts. Based on a typical mobile texting plan, you're probably paying per text message. So going over the character limit, even by a couple of characters, will double your cost.)

That's why many popular acronyms and abbreviations can be your best friend for both personal and business text messages.

Also, remember the early days of texting before predictive text became a thing? Finding a particular letter on a mobile phone keypad was tedious; push-push-push-push, and finally, a 'T' is born! Punctuation marks were worse – infinite key-punching. Hence, mobile phone users began to use text abbreviations – shortened forms of words and phrases.

If we go as far back as 2011, a publication called The Hindu reported that two-thirds of adults started using text abbreviations. Seven out of ten people said they had started using text message abbreviations in their email communications as well.

Nowadays, it's much easier to type out a text message on a smartphone keyboard. But SMS abbreviations are more widely used than ever before. And not just by younger generations that use text slang words day in and day out. Age is just a number when it comes to incorporating texting abbreviations into everyday casual and formal interactions.

Text abbreviations are helpful for anyone who needs to be succinct when communicating through text messages. Businesses also use them when appropriate to stay "hip."

As they say, less is more. Using text abbreviations can help you fit more content into your text message and save you time. If you want to keep this professional, you should at least understand what some of the most popular text abbreviations mean so that you can respond in kind.

We've compiled two different lists of text shortcuts. The first is the text abbreviations list for everyday conversations with your family and friends. A lot of these are texting slang and internet abbreviations. The second one, significantly shorter due to the nature of professional texting, is a list of common text abbreviations more suitable for business or other formal uses.

200+ most common text acronyms and abbreviations for casual chatting

You'll probably have come across many of these text abbreviations before. even if you're not quite sure what they mean. Once you get the hang of them, they can be quite the time saver when you're chatting with friends and family via text messaging.

Here's a list of some of the most common texting abbreviations, along with their full forms, to help you better understand SMS messages from people you know.

1. GM – good morning
2. GN – good night
3. LOL – laughing out loud, laugh out loud
4. OMG – oh my god (or oh my gosh)
5. OMH – oh my heart (or oh my heavens)
6. OM – oh my!
7. OML – oh my lord
8. PTL – praise the lord
9. LYS – love yourself
10. YK – you know
11. AYT – are you there (or alright)
12. WB – welcome back
13. DNC – do not care
14. SMT – sucking my teeth
15. WBK – we been knew
16. IMK – in my knowledge
17. W/O – without
18. FWB – friends with benefits
19. PO – peace out
20. ACC – account
21. W/E – whatever
22. NGL – not going to lie
23. BRT – be right there
24. DTM – dead to me (or doing too much)
25. MBN – must be nice
26. IYKYK – if you know, you know
27. MFW – my face when
28. TFW – that feel when
29. IMO – in my opinion
30. IMHO – in my humble opinion (or in my honest opinion)
31. BTW – by the way
32. DW – don't worry
33. IK – I know
34. IC – I see
35. IDK – I don't know
36. LMK – let me know
37. MN – me neither
38. IKR – I know, right
39. TBH – to be honest
40. TBVH – to be very honest
41. TGIF – thank god it's Friday
42. TBT – throwback Thursday
43. ROFL – rolling on the floor laughing
44. LMAO – laughing my a** off
45. LMFAO – laughing my f****** a** off
46. ROFLMAO – rolling on the floor laughing my a** off
47. AH – ar*ehole (or, less commonly, at home)
48. BRB – be right back
49. BBL – be back later
50. TTYL – talk to you later
51. THX – thanks
52. TY – thank you
53. TYSM – thank you so much
54. TFTI – thanks for the invite
55. YW – you're welcome
56. ASAP – as soon as possible
57. POV – point of view
58. BD – big deal
59. NBD – no big deal
60. OMW – on my way
61. OTW – on the way
62. DIY – do it yourself
63. AKA – also known as
64. SMS – short message service
65. MMS – multimedia messaging service
66. OATUS – on a totally unrelated subject
67. ICYMI – in case you missed it
68. STFU – shut the **** up
69. BF – boyfriend; best friend
70. GF – girlfriend
71. SO – significant other
72. BFF – best friend forever
73. BFFL or BF4L – best friend(s) for life
74. LDR – long-distance relationship
75. ILY – I love you
76. ILYSM – I love you so much
77. PDA – public display of affection
78. YOLO – you only live once
79. WTG – way to go!
80. B4 – before
81. IRL – in real life
82. ISO – in search of
83. TMI – too much information
84. TIL – today I learned
85. VM – voice message
86. ATM – at the moment
87. RN – right now
88. RFN – right ******* now!
89. ATP – at this point
90. BYOB – bring your own beer
91. CU – see you
92. Cya – see ya
93. HMU – hit me up
94. CMB – call me back
95. UR – you are (you're) (or your)
96. FYI – for your information
97. FOMO – fear of missing out
98. JOMO – joy of missing out
99. GR8 – great
100. SMH – shaking my head
101. SMDH – shaking my damn head
102. L8R – later
103. JMO – just my opinion
104. NVM – never mind
105. GL – good luck
106. GG – good game
107. FWIW – for what it's worth
108. GBU – god bless you
109. IMNSHO – in my not-so-humble opinion
110. TL;DR – too long; didn't read
111. QOTD – quote of the day
112. TBF – to be frank (or to be fair)
113. DKDC – don't know, don't care
114. IDC – I don't care
115. IDGAF – I don’t give a ****
116. IDGI – I don’t get it
117. CBA – can't be ar*ed
118. K – okay
119. GTG or G2G – got to go
120. 2NITE – tonight
121. CWOT – complete waste of time
122. MU – miss you
123. IMU/IMY – I miss you
124. SSDD – same stuff, different day
125. XOXO – hugs and kisses
126. NE1 – anyone
127. OTT – over the top
128. PLZ – please
129. PLS – please
130. DM – direct message
131. PM – private message
132. UOK – you okay?
133. RUOK – are you okay?
134. MIA – missing in action
135. AWOL – absent without leave
136. AFK – away from keyboard
137. BAK – back at keyboard
138. HBD – happy birthday
139. SPK – speak
140. SRY – sorry
141. IMS – I am sorry
142. MB – my bad
143. SUP – what's up?
144. NM – not much (or nothing much)
145. NTM – nothing much (or not too much)
146. EZ – easy
147. TTFN – ta ta for now
148. TC – take care
149. V – very
150. VN – very nice (or voice note)
151. HF – have fun
152. U2 – you too
153. BAE – before anyone else
154. WTF – what the ****
155. WTM – what's the matter?
156. WYD – what you doing?
157. Y? – why?
158. JK – just kidding
159. BC – because
160. Cuz – because (or cousin)
161. HRU – how are you?
162. WYA – where you at?
163. WBU – what about you?
164. OBV – obviously
165. OFC – of course
166. RD – real deal
167. WTW – what’s the word?
168. WDYS – what do you say?
169. BFN / B4N – bye for now
170. TMRW – tomorrow
171. NMU – not much, you?
172. GJ – good job
173. GTFO – get the **** out (or get the **** off)
174. GTFOH – get the **** outta here
175. IFHT – I f****** hate that
176. NFW – no f****** way
177. OIC – oh I see
178. TMB – text me back (or text me b**ch)
179. WYS – whatever you say (or what you sayin'?)
180. WDYT – what do you think?
181. WTV – whatever
182. FS – for sure
183. FR – for real
184. BR – be real
185. BFR – be for real
186. BFFR – be for f****** real
187. RLY – really
188. SRS – serious
189. SRSLY – seriously
190. NFS – no funny stuff (or no funny sh*t)
191. PPL – people
192. TYT – take your time
193. AF/ASF – as **** (e.g., the new episode is cool AF)
194. AS – as sh*t (e.g., the new episode is cool AS)
195. STG/ISTG – swear to god/I swear to god
196. FFS – for ****’s sake
197. FGS – for god’s sake
198. DAE – does anyone else
199. OOTD – outfit of the day
200. OOMF – one of my friends
201. FTW – for the win
202. YK – you know
203. YKTV – you know the vibe
204. M8 – mate
205. QT – cutie (or quote tweet)
206. RT – retweet
207. QRT – quote retweet
208. PQRT – private quote retweet
209. TWT – Twitter (or time will tell)
210. FB – Facebook
211. WA – WhatsApp
212. IG – Instagram (or I guess)
213. YT – YouTube
214. IYSWIM – if you see what I mean
215. IYKWIM – if you know what I mean
216. YMMV – your mileage may vary
217. DAM – don’t ask me
218. DND – do not disturb
219. NOYB – none of your business
220. SFW – safe for work
221. ELI5 – explain like I’m 5
222. AMA – ask me anything
223. AFAIK – as far as I know
224. IIRC – if I remember correctly
225. IDTS – I don’t think so
226. JSYK – just so you know
227. HIFW – how I felt when
228. JIC – just in case
229. NSFL – not safe for life
230. Sus – suspicious
231. WYWH – wish you were here
232. YGTI – you get the idea
233. FTT/F2T – free to talk?
234. NIMBY – not in my backyard

A text abbreviations list for use in business messaging

The text acronyms and abbreviations below are those you're more likely to use in a business setting when you're communicating with colleagues and customers.

(There are a few in the above list, too, such as DM, FYI, TY, ASAP, and POV, which we're not going to repeat in the following list. Also, make sure you avoid abbreviations from the previous list that are a tad too explicit and could be construed as tasteless or offensive.)

1. TBC – to be confirmed
2. TBA – to be announced
3. TBD – to be determined
4. POC – point of contact
5. VIP – very important person
6. FAQ – frequently asked question(s)
7. N/A – not applicable (or not available)
8. TIA – thanks in advance
9. OOO – out of office
10. IAM – in a meeting
11. T&C – terms and conditions
12. R&D – research and development
13. NP – no problem
14. NW – no worries
15. EOD – end of day
16. EOM – end of message
17. COB – close of business
18. OTJ – on-the-job
19. ETA – estimated time of arrival
20. EMBM – early morning business meeting
21. AGM – annual general meeting
22. AOB – any other business
23. RFP – request for proposal
24. RFQ – request for quotation
25. RFI – request for information
26. PFA – please find attached
27. FYA – for your action
28. FYR – for your reference
29. PS – post scriptum
30. AR – action required
31. PRB – please reply by
32. NRN – no reply necessary or no reply needed
33. Y/N – yes or no
34. NDA – non-disclosure agreement
35. LOI – letter of intent
36. MOU – memorandum of understanding
37. CTA – call to action
38. SOP – standard operating procedure
39. ROI – return on investment
40. VFM – value for money
41. CTR – click-through rate
42. KPI – key performance indicator
43. PMO – project management office
44. SME – subject matter expert
45. B2B – business-to-business
46. B2C – business-to-consumer
47. BOGOF – buy one get one free
48. FF – follow Friday
49. OTP – one-time password
50. HTH – hope this helps
51. WFH – work from home
52. F2F – face to face
53. BYOD – bring your own device
54. PTO – paid time off
55. NWR – not work-related

Tips for using text abbreviations in business text messages

It's perfectly acceptable to use certain common text abbreviations in business and marketing messages for brevity and relevance. Doing so can position your brand as one that's forward-thinking and modern. But bear in mind that too many texting abbreviations can make your message content hard to read and look unprofessional.

The trick is to strike a balance. Use well-known texting acronyms and abbreviations wisely (and only a couple per text message), and you'll connect with your customers in a way they'll recognise and appreciate.

Text abbreviations can work brilliantly in the following situations:

• If your brand identity and messaging are fun, quirky, and modern.
• If you know your audience is likely to understand your abbreviated text message content. (People age 34 and under are more likely to be familiar with most common text abbreviations, and an older audience may understand the mainstream ones, e.g., LOL, ASAP, FAQ, and T&C.)
• When you're sending out 'good news' promotional SMS messages, such as special offers, flash sales, and product/service discounts. (Note: don't abbreviate gratitude in a business text message. It's important to say thank you the old-fashioned way: plain and simple.)
• When you have quite a bit to say in a text message and need to save on character space.
• When you're communicating with co-workers, and you're short on time.

An education in texting abbreviations!

Hopefully, our list of the top 250+ texting abbreviations will help you become a whizz in texting phrases commonly used by both old and young generations. At best, you will be able to casually throw around English slang abbreviations and acronyms used in texting and save lots of time in the process. At the very least, you'll have a rough idea of what people are talking about when you receive text messages full of cool abbreviations or acronyms!

Texting shouldn't be complicated, especially in business, where you need to send out communications urgently and efficiently. If you're using SMS for business text messaging, browse the Messente blog for tons of helpful articles that'll help you get the best out of your SMS campaigns.