Historically, slang terms have gained recognition, not just in America but worldwide. Due to the internet, music, film, and social media, slang has become the greatest medium for language and communication. If you are planning to study abroad in the US then learning American slangs is a must. Read this blog to learn some common American slang terms and phrases used in America. This is a handbook of slang that covers general English slang, food slang, and more. Let us first begin by understanding what American slang is.
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Wondering what slangs mean? Slang words are informal terms and expressions that are more common in spoken language. The meaning of these terms differs from the literal meaning. For example, when someone says "Keep your cool," they're not referring to temperature but to staying calm under pressure.
In the USA, people use slang irrespective of their age. American slang words are trendy worldwide, thanks to the internet, social media, movies, and rap music. Besides, knowing how and when to use slang language helps in connecting with and understanding students.
Slangs in English or American slang terms play a crucial role in language and communication. Besides, there are a lot of different slang that are used in different settings and for a variety of purposes. In the sections below, you will come across all the kinds of slang that you can use in the US. These include general, campus, friendship, reaction, finance, food, and travel slang. Let us begin by looking at the general slang.
Here are a few basic English slangs and their meaning. Moreover, examples are provided below.
| General Slangs | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ASAP | As Soon As Possible | We have to get this ASAP. |
| Blown Away | To be shocked about something. | I was blown away when he got a scholarship in the US for his study. It was a difficult one. |
| BRB | Be right back | Hold on! I’ll BRB! |
| Break the Ice | Make a beginning. Initiate a conversation. | Good communication skills are important to break the ice. |
| Bummer | Unpleasant experience | That workshop on time management skills was such a bummer. |
| Hang On | American slang commonly used to wait for a short while. | Hang on! We will issue you this book in a bit. |
| Hold your horses | American slang means to hold on / wait. | Hold your horses, don’t panic! We’ll get out of this situation. |
| Jammed-up | Stuck or immobile | It's all jammed up, I cannot open it. |
| Luck Out | Doing well when you least or don’t expect. | I completely forgot to study for the test, but I ended up lucking out and getting a good grade! |
| Through The Grapevine | Something heard through informal channels or gossip. | I heard through the grapevine that they might be hiring for a new position in marketing. |
Further, let us look at American slang words list used in campus or student life.
Various English slangs are a part of campus or student daily life. Listed below are a few of these slang and their meaning with examples.
| Student Life Slangs | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Bombed | To fail badly on a test or assignment | I was bombed in the test. I guess I will have a backlog this semester. |
| Buckle down | Start studying seriously | I need to buckle down else I will lose my scholarship at the university. |
| Cram | To study a lot of information in a short period. | Let’s not cram the information and rather understand it. |
| Extra credit | Optional work that can improve your grade. | Hopefully, my internship certificate will earn me an extra credit. |
| Flunk | To fail a test or a course. | I hope I don’t flunk the test. My plans for the holidays will get ruined. |
| Drop a class | Officially withdraw from a course. | I don’t think I will be able to do this elective. I will request to drop a class tomorrow. |
| Finals | The last examinations of the semester. | After the finals, I will go visit my parents in India. |
| GPA | Grade Point Average | I got an 8.9 GPA in my last semester exams. |
| All-nighter | Studying or working through the entire night. | We’re planning to pull an all-nighter to finish the assignment. |
| On your fingertips | Something that can be easily recalled. | Our history teacher suggests everyone to remember all the dates on our fingertips. |
Next, let us look at friendship & relationship American slang words list.
Listed below are a few friendship and relationship American slangs and their meaning along with examples.
| Friendship & Relationship Slangs | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Bae | A term of endearment | That’s my best friend and my bae. |
| Bestie | Best friend | That girl over there sitting at the counter is my bestie. |
| Bro | A close male friend | Hi bro! What are your plans for the weekend? |
| Dude | American slang for a guy | Hey dude! That’s my bag. |
| Fam | Group of friends that are close like family. | Tanya and Sanya are my fam. |
| Mate | A friend | Hey mate, could you pass me the rice bowl, please? |
| BFF | Best Friend Forever | Hey, BFF, let's catch up soon! |
| Red Flag | Warning of danger | He’s a red flag in their relationship. |
| Spill the Tea | Share juicy gossip | Come on, spill the tea! What happened between you and Sarah? |
| Ghosting | Disappear from someone's life without giving an explanation. | In my opinion, we should stop ghosting each other. |
The next part will help you understand emotions or reactions American Slang examples are also provided.
Emotional slangs help you understand the reaction in response to a stimuli or event. Thus, here is a list of emotions or reactions in American slangs with meaning and examples.
| Emotions or Reactions Slangs | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| FOMO | Fear of Missing Out | I am afraid I will have FOMO if I don’t go to the party tonight. I cannot miss all the fun. |
| GOAT | Greatest of all time | Diljit Dosanjh is a GOAT singer. |
| Go bananas | Go crazy | I will go bananas learning the rules of the present tense someday. |
| Hassle | American slang for problems or difficulties. | We will all be hassled if we are unable to submit the project within the set deadline. |
| Legit | Slang for good or worthwhile. | The class for learning French was legit amazing. |
| Lit | American slang for exciting or fun. | Last night’s party was lit! |
| YOLO | You Only Live Once | YOLO, let's go skydiving this weekend, we won't regret it. |
| Psyched | Be mentally prepared for something exciting. | I'm so psyched about the upcoming vacation, I can't wait to relax on the beach! |
| Have Cold Feet | To be nervous, uncertain, or anxious | Today’s presentation with the board. I have cold feet. |
| Feeling blue | Sadness | It's a long day, we are already feeling the blues. |
Further, let us have a glance at the financial and money-related American slang.
Read More: Synonyms
A special jargon helps you connect and communicate with a subset of people in a better manner. Thus, curated below is a list of Finance American slangs with examples that can be used for money and finances in America.
| Finance Slangs | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ballin' | Spending money lavishly (informal, might be boastful). | He won the lottery and started ballin', buying expensive cars and designer clothes. |
| Broke | Having no money. | I am broke, and will wait for my part-time employer to give me a paycheck. |
| Buck | U.S. dollar | Lend me a buck, please! |
| Budget | Planning how to spend your money. | Let’s make a budget this month so that we don’t overspend. |
| Side hustle | A secondary job to earn extra income. | Doing a part-time job in USA is a side hustle. |
| Take a Raincheck | To postpone an invitation | I'd love to go to the concert with you, but I can't tonight. Maybe we can take a raincheck for next weekend? |
| Cheddar | Someone has a lot of money | Taylor Swift has earned a cheddar with her songs. |
| Bean | A coin or a bank note considered as a coin | I can't pay for the ticket, I don't have a bean in my pocket. |
| Grand | A thousand dollars | How many grands do you have in your pocket? |
| In the red | Business is in debt and owes money. | My business is in the red and I can’t do anything to save it. |
Now that you know all about the monetary slang, let us further look at the American food slang that can be used there.
Read More: Idioms
Food is a defining trait of a state’s culture. Thus, to get a closer understanding of a place and its culture, food slang is a great way. Here’s an American food slangs dictionary for your reference.
| Food Slangs | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Grub | American slang for food | After studying all night, my stomach rumbled for some grub. I decided to raid the vending machine for a snack. |
| Junk | American slang for junk food | There is a new food truck, let’s go have some junk from there. |
| Chow | An informal way to say food or meal. | I just love Mexican chow. |
| Cafeteria food | Food served in a large dining hall on campus. | The cafeteria food has good lunch options on Wednesdays and Thursdays. |
| Caffeine fix | A strong need for coffee or caffeinated drinks. | I need a caffeine fix to finish my work. |
| Grab a bite | To eat a quick meal | Let’s quickly grab a bite before the lecture begins. |
| On the House | American slang for free | Since it was my birthday, the dessert was on the house! |
| Pig Out | To eat excessively | We pigged out on pizza and ice cream after watching the whole movie marathon. |
| Sweet tooth | A strong liking for sweet foods | My sweet tooth is cured by a peach from the farmer's market. |
| Nosh | A light snack | The party had great nosh. |
Further, in the next section, let us look at some American travel slang.
While setting out for a journey or a trip to nearby places these slangs can greatly benefit you. Here’s a table below with travel slang terms, meanings, and examples for each of these to understand them better.
| Travel Slangs | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Bail | Leave an event or plan unexpectedly. | I bailed out of the auditorium when the professor called me. |
| Cabbie | A short form for a cab driver. | Lost in the city, I relied on the friendly cabbie's knowledge of backstreets to get me to my appointment on time. |
| Crash | To stay at someone's place unexpectedly. | He’s crashing at my place because there’s renovation going on in his house. |
| Dorm | A residence hall on campus. | There are benefits to choosing a student dorm in the university. You’ll enjoy your stay and study. |
| Hit the road | To start travelling. | Let's hit the road at 7 a.m. tomorrow. |
| Gramping | Grandparents and their grandchildren going on vacation together. | It is time to bridge the generational divide and go gramping. |
| Shotgun | In a car, the seat beside the driver is called the “shotgun” seat. | I call Shotgun for the entire trip! |
| Staycation | When people go on a trip and work from there. | Let’s go on a staycation on this weekend. |
| Red-eye | A late night flight that arrives early in the morning. | I took the red eye from California to New York last night and now I am exhausted. |
| Globetrotting | The action of travelling widely around the world. | In spite of his globetrotting, he has not abandoned his Indian heritage. |
These were some of the travel slang words in America. However, are you aware of the American slang phrases? In the next section, read some of the most used phrases with their meanings.
In the table below, you will find a few popular American slang phrases along with their meanings.
| American slang phrases | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Once in a blue moon | Rarely |
| I don’t buy that | I don’t believe you |
| I can’t even! | I can’t tolerate that anymore! |
| No biggie | Not a problem |
| Get under one’s skin | To Annoy |
| Pass the buck | Make someone else responsible |
| Around the clock | All the time, 24 hours a day, 7 seven days a week. |
| In the zone | Performing as well as or better than one can. |
| Off the hook | Freed from blame |
| Spill the tea/spill the beans | Share the gossip/secret |
These were some of the most common American slang phrases that will help you communicate in a foreign land.
To use and understand American slangs correctly, it is vital to understand the context instead of just the words. Moreover, these slangs help you enhance your vocabulary for exams as well. Here are a few tips on how to use the US slang terms:
To wrap up, American slang is one of the major things to learn before going to the US. Every student or individual should learn these if planning to live, study, or work in the nation. Although slangs help you build informal conversations with ease but to study abroad, you must also be able to build formal conversations. Especially for the speaking section of exams like IELTS & PTE, as they are a mandatory requirement for admissions. For this, you may seek professional help from Gradding.com. Our experts provide excellent IELTS Online Coaching to students and offer various mock tests.
Learning American slang makes life easier and more understandable. From your neighbors to co-workers, everyone uses slang these days. Here are a few reasons why you must learn American slangs before flying to the US:
Over the past few years, American slang has originated from three specific sources these are music, politics, and the internet. It is easy to communicate through slang. Moreover, it is the hip-hop, pop, rap, and youth culture that creates trends of new slang words every day. Besides, via social media, this English slang has spread all across the globe and is used in everyday conversations.
Common American slang that is generally used includes BRB (Be Right Back), YOLO (You Only Live Once), ASAP(As Soon As Possible), and spill the tea. These are usually student life slangs and informal jargon used in USA and more parts of the world.
Calling a person or thing cool typically means that they are fashionable and attractive. For instance, “He was trying to be really cool and trendy.” or “That's a cool hat.” These examples suggest that these are stylish and modern.
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