Text Abbreviations List and How To Use Them (2024)

Introduction

Word or character count is often a limiting factor on text-based communications platforms. For example, message content might be constrained to an upper limit of individual characters, or a maximum number of words. A messaging platform might also base its pricing on the number of characters or words that you send.

To achieve maximum value from your text-based communications, it’s therefore a good idea, if you can limit the amount of content you transmit, while still maximizing its impact. This is where text abbreviations can come in handy.

What are Text Abbreviations?

Text abbreviations are shortened versions of a given word or phrase. You can use them to save on typing time and effort – and to limit the number of words or characters in a given communication. Typically, text abbreviations may be short phonetic representations of the word or phrase, or acronyms where each character stands for a particular word.

Your List of Current Text Abbreviations

There are currently hundreds of text abbreviations in standard use. We’ve assembled a comprehensive list, and presented them in logical sections as follows:

Standard Interactions and Transactions

?4U: I have a question for you

121: One to one

2: To (in texting)

2EZ: Too easy

2F4U: Too fast for you

2G2BT: Too good to be true

2M2H: Too much to handle

2MORO: Tomorrow

2NITE: Tonight

4: For (in texting)

AAMOF: As a matter of fact

AAQ: Assumed asinine question

AFK: Away from keyboard

ABC: Already been chewed

ABT: About

ADDY: Address

ADMIN : Administrator

ADN: Any day now

AFAIK: As far as I know

AH: At home

AIGHT: Alright

AISB: As it should be, or As I said before

AKA: Also known as

ALOL: Actually laughing out loud

AMIIC: Ask me if I care

APP: Application

A/S/L: Age/sex/location

ATB: All the best

AYDY: Are you done yet?

AYS: Are you serious?

AYT: Are you there?

B2W: Back to work

B4: Before

BAE: Before anyone else

BAK: Back at keyboard

BAU: Business as usual

BBL: Be back later

BBS: Be back soon

BC: Because

BCNU: Be seeing you

BD: Big deal

BDAY: Birthday

BFF: Best friends forever

BFD: Big freaking deal

BFN: Bye for now

BIF: Before I forget

BLNT: Better luck next time

BOL: Best of luck

BR: Best regards

BRB: Be right back

BRT: Be right there

BTDT: Been there, done that

BTW: By the way

BYOB: Bring your own beer

BYOC: Bring your own computer

BYOD: Bring your own device

BYTM: Better you than me

CHK: Check

CID: Consider it done

CLD: Could

CLK: Click

CMON: Come on

COB: Close of business

CRAY: Crazy

CRE8: Create

CU: See you

DBEYR: Don’t believe everything you read

DGT: Don’t go there

DIY: Do it yourself

DKDC: Don’t know, don’t care

DL: Download

DQMOT: Don’t quote me on this

DUPE: Duplicate

EAK: Eating at keyboard

EOBD: End of business day

EOD: End of day, or End of discussion

EOM: End of message

EZ: Easy

F2F: Face to face

FAQ: Frequently asked questions

FBM: Fine by me

FBOW: For better or worse

FIMH: Forever in my heart

FOAF: Friend of a friend

FOMO: Fear of missing out

FRT: For real though

FTBOMH: From the bottom of my heart

FTL: For the loss

FTW: For the win

FWIW: For what it’s worth

FWM: Fine with me

FYA: For your amusement

FYEO/4YEO: For your eyes only

FYI: For your information

G2CU: Good to see you

G2G: Got to go

GB: Goodbye

GB2W: Get back to work

GD: Good

GFI: Go for it

GL: Good luck

GOI: Get over it

GR8: Great

GRATZ: Congratulations

H8: Hate

HAND: Have a nice day

HRU: How are you?

HW: Homework

IAE: In any event

IC: I see

ICBW: It could be worse

ICYMI: In case you missed it

IDC: I don’t care

IDK: I don’t know

IFYP: I feel your pain

IGN: I’ve got nothing

ILY/ILU : I love you

IMHO: In my humble opinion

IMO: In my opinion

IMS: I am sorry

IMU: I miss you

IRL: In real life

ISO: In search of

ITYK: I thought you knew

IYKWIM: If you know what I mean

IYSS: If you say so

JIC: Just in case

JK: Just kidding

JW: Just wondering

K: OK

KK: Cool cool

KEWL: Cool

L8R: Later

LIC: Like I care

LMGTFY: Let me Google that for you

LOL: Laughing out loud

LOTI: Laughing on the inside

LTD: Living the dream

LTNS: Long time no see

LYSM: Love you so much

MEH: So-so or just OK

MHOTY: My hat’s off to you

MKAY: Mmm, OK

MYOB: Mind your own business

N00b: Newbie, novice

N2M: Not too much

NBD: No big deal

NGL: Not gonna lie

NFS: Not for sale

NIMBY: Not in my backyard

NLT: No later than

NM: Nothing much

NMU: Not much, you?

NOYB: None of your business

NP: No problem

NSFW: Not safe for work

NVM: Never mind

NWO: No way out

OBV: Obviously

OH: Overheard

OIC: Oh, I see

OMDB: Over my dead body

OMG: Oh my God

OMW: On my way

OP: Original poster, or Original post

OS: Operating system

OT: Off-topic

OTB: Off to bed

OTFL: On the floor laughing

OYO: On your own

PDA: Public display of affection

PEBCAK: Problem exists between chair and keyboard

PLS: Please

PM: Private message

POV: Point of view

PPL: People

PROLLY: Probably

PTL: Praise the Lord

PTMM: Please tell me more

Q4U: (I have a) question for you

QOTD: Quote of the day

QQ: Quick question

R: Are

RBTL: Read between the lines

RLY: Really

ROFL: Rolling on the floor laughing

ROFLCOPTER: Rolling on the floor laughing and spinning around

RTM: Read the manual

SH^: Shut up

SITD: Sitting in the dark

SK8: Skate

SLAP: Sounds like a plan

SMH: Shaking my head

SOL: Sooner or later

SRSLY: Seriously

SRY: Sorry

STBY: Sucks to be you

STR8: Straight

SUP: What’s up?

SUX: Sucks or “it sucks”

SYL: See you later

SYS: See you soon

TBH: To be honest

TCB: Take/Taking care of business

TGIF: Thank God it’s Friday

THX: Thanks

TIA: Thanks in advance

TIL: Today I learned

TL: Too long

TLC: Tender loving care

TL;DR: Too long; didn’t read

TMI: Too much information

TMOT: Trust me on this

TW: Trigger warning

TWSS: That’s what she said

TTYL: Talk to you later

TTYS: Talk to you soon

TYT: Take your time

TYSO: Thank you so much

UFN: Until further notice

UOK: Are you OK?

VM: Voicemail

VRY: Very

W/O: Without

WAH: Working at home

WAYF: Where are you from?

WBU: What about you?

W/E: Whatever

WFH: Work/Working from home

WH5: Who, what, when, where, why

WDYK: What do you know?

WDYT: What do you think?

WRK: Work

WTG: Way to go

WYSIWYG: What you see is what you get

WYD: What are you doing?

WYGAM: When you get a minute

WYWH: Wish you were here

XOXO: Hugs and kisses

Y: Why (?)

YHBW: You have been warned

YNK: You never know

Events and Scheduling

ASAP: As Soon As Possible

ATM: At the moment

BRB: Be right back

COB: Close of business

EOD: End of day

ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival

FBF: Flashback Friday

HBD: Happy birthday

RN: Right now

RSVP: Please respond to confirm that you’re able or unable to attend (from the French “Répondez S’il Vous Plaît”)

TBA: To Be Announced

TBC: To Be Confirmed

TBD: To Be Determined

TBT: Throwback Thursday

TMRW: Tomorrow

Marketing Terms

5G: 5th generation mobile communications

API: Application Programming Interface

B2B – Business to Business

B2C – Business to Consumer

BYOC: Bring Your Own Carrier

CPC: Cost per click

CR: Conversion rate

CTA: Call to action

CTR: Click-through rate

DSC – Dedicated Short Code

ea. mo. or /mth: Per Month (an approved CTIA abbreviation)

MMS: Multimedia Messaging Service

Mo: Month (an approved CTIA abbreviation)

Msg: Message (an approved CTIA abbreviation)

Msg&Data Rates May Apply: Message and Data Rates May Apply (an approved CTIA abbreviation)

/: Per (an approved CTIA abbreviation)

RCS: Rich communication services

ROI: Return on investment

SCN: Short Code Number

SMB: Small to medium-sized business

SMS: Short Message Service

SME: Small to medium-sized enterprise

TCPA: Telephone Consumer Protection Act

TOS: Terms of service

Txt: Text (an approved CTIA abbreviation)

UGC: User-generated content

UX: User experience

Slang and Colloquial

BAE: Affectionate or familiar for “baby”

BAMF: Bada** motherf*****

BF: Boyfriend

BFD: Big freaking deal

DILLIGAS: Do I look like I give a s***?

FAF: Funny as f***

FUBAR: F***ed up beyond all recognition

GF: Girlfriend

Gucci: Good, or cool

IDGAF: I don’t give a f***

It gives/It’s not giving: It’s good (or “It reminds me of…”) , or It’s not good.

LMAO: Laughing my a** off

LMFAO: Laughing my f****** a** off

Lowkey: Moderately, or kind of

LDR: Long-distance relationship

LOML: Love of my life

LTR: Long-term relationship

LULZ: Slang form of laughing out loud (LOL)

Mid: Mediocre

NFW: No f*****g way

No cap/No lie: I’m not lying

OMFG:Oh my f*****g God

OTP: One true pairing

PITA: Pain in the a**

PTFO: Pass the f*** out

PWN Own, or really get the better of

ROFLMAO: Rolling on the floor laughing my a** off

RTFM: Read the f*****g manual

Sending me: Something that excites or amuses you

SH: S*** happens

Slay: Good, or okay

SNAFU: Situation normal, all f***ed up

SOB: Son of a b****

STFU: Shut the f*** up

Sus: Suspicious or suspect

UFB Un-f******-believable

Vibe: A general feeling, or mood

WTF: What the f***

Social Media

BR: BeReal

DM: Direct message

FB: Facebook

FF: Follow Friday

IG or Insta: Instagram

IM: Instant message

LI: LinkedIn

OP: Original post

PM: Private message

PRT: Please Retweet (Twitter/X)

RT: Retweet

SC: Snapchat

SMP: Social media platform

STAN: STalker fAN. Though it can be derogatory, it now often refers to fans who are highly engaged and supportive of their favorite celebrities

TFTF: Thanks for the follow (X, etc.)

TMB: Tweet me back (Twitter/X)

TT: TikTok

WA: WhatsApp

X: formerly known as Twitter

YT: YouTube

Best Practices for Using Text Abbreviations

Given the vast choice of text abbreviations available, you might be tempted to rely on them entirely, for all your SMS marketing. However, you should bear in mind that not everyone receiving your messages will be familiar with what they mean – or for that matter, be comfortable with using them.

Therefore, it’s important to take a more balanced approach to using text abbreviations. The following recommendations will help.

Consider Your Audience

You should only use text abbreviations that your target audience will understand. You can use customer data, demographics, and records of their previous transactions to gain a better picture of what resonates with your designated recipients. Knowing your target audience will help in deciding whether text abbreviations are appropriate for a given campaign – and which ones you should and shouldn’t use.

Consider the Context

As well as your intended targets, you should take into account the context of the business/marketing discussion. Is it an internal communication with work colleagues that you’re on friendly terms with? Are you pitching a product or service to a potential client with traditional or conservative views?

These and other such considerations will help determine whether you should use text abbreviations or not. The context of your interactions will also dictate the kinds of abbreviations to use.

Keeping an eye on changes and evolution in the text abbreviations language will also help. Monitoring general developments in the language and the abbreviations that others in your industry are using will assist you in avoiding dated or inappropriate acronyms and phrases.

Make Sure It’s Compliant

Compliance with the relevant standards governing your SMS marketing can have as much influence on what you say as the need for clarity in your messaging. In this regard, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) has developed a list of approved abbreviations that you can use in your text marketing. These abbreviations can help you save space without sacrificing clarity.

Don’t Overdo It

Don’t try to fit too many texting abbreviations in a single text. While this may save on character and word count, the end result could make you look foolish and unprofessional. If in doubt, type out the full word.

Remember also that with Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) capabilities, you can easily attach images or graphics to your messages, to improve clarity.

Use the Right Technology

Whatever your approach to text abbreviations, you’ll need a robust communications platform – one that fits the way you work, and readily provides for all your SMS marketing needs.

With IDT Express, you can boost your communication and connect with your audience in a simple and effective way, through a cutting-edge SMS platform that supports multimedia messaging via WhatsApp, Viber, and FB Messenger. Using IDT Express Link Shortening, you can also optimize your SMS messages by shortening URLs and tracking clicks.

Using the IDT Express SMS API (Application Programming Interface), you can seamlessly build customer journeys by fostering interactive conversations, all within the framework of your app. With its comprehensive documentation to facilitate quick deployment and 24/7 support for you and your team, you can swiftly integrate IDT’s Platform into your current systems or applications.

To find out more, visit our website.

Text Abbreviations List and How To Use Them (2024)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Domingo Moore

Last Updated:

Views: 6291

Rating: 4.2 / 5 (53 voted)

Reviews: 84% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Domingo Moore

Birthday: 1997-05-20

Address: 6485 Kohler Route, Antonioton, VT 77375-0299

Phone: +3213869077934

Job: Sales Analyst

Hobby: Kayaking, Roller skating, Cabaret, Rugby, Homebrewing, Creative writing, amateur radio

Introduction: My name is Domingo Moore, I am a attractive, gorgeous, funny, jolly, spotless, nice, fantastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.