Internet Slang Guide
The essential guide to internet and Gen Z slang — rizz, no cap, delulu, brain rot and the terms born online.
Internet slang is the fastest-moving variety of English that has ever existed. This guide covers the essential vocabulary and explains why it changes so fast.
The most important terms right now
Rizz (charisma, Oxford Word of the Year 2023), no cap (no lie), delulu (playfully delusional), aura (coolness measured in points), sigma (self-reliant lone wolf), and brain rot (Oxford Word of the Year 2024) are the terms with the most cultural traction in 2026. Each has a full dictionary entry with origin story, examples, and parent notes.
Terms from gaming culture
A significant portion of internet slang comes from gaming. NPC (someone who acts scripted), sus (suspicious, from Among Us), side quest (spontaneous detour), and W and L (win and loss) all crossed from games into everyday speech. The gaming slang section covers these in full.
Why it moves so fast
The TikTok algorithm can carry a word from one creator's mouth to 50 million phones in days. This speed means slang expires faster too — once brands and parents adopt a word, it loses its function as an in-group signal. Our history of internet slang traces the full arc from 1980s chat rooms to today.
The full dictionary
Browse all American and internet slang terms or use the translator to decode specific messages.
Last updated: 2026-08-20