Mental Floss

The 20 Most-Googled Text Abbreviations

The list includes IMO (in my opinion), DM (direct message), and even YOLO (you only live once).

CaLea Johnson|
Do you know all of the abbreviations on this list?
Do you know all of the abbreviations on this list? | Jacques Julien/GettyImages

Keeping up with slang is an ongoing task. When social media posts start to look like a foreign language, many people rely on Google to translate the latest acronyms and abbreviations. To see which ones Americans are searching for the most, check out the list below.

For their report, the business admin experts at Vera compiled a 114-word list of the most popular text message abbreviations by scouring sources like Reader’s Digest, Preply, YourDictionary, and more. They then used an online analytics tool called Ahrefs to determine each term’s search volume, accounting for various search queries, like “X meaning,” “What does XX mean,” and “XX definition.” 

According to Vera’s findings, the top three most-searched text abbreviations are SMH (shaking my head), POV (point of view), and NSFW (not safe for work), with a total of 514,050 average monthly searches in the U.S. combined.

Rank

Text Abbreviation

Average U.S. Monthly Search Volume

1

SMH (Shaking my head)

231,450

2

POV (Point of view)

155,800

3

NSFW (Not safe for work)

126,800

4

FOMO (Fear of missing out)

121,600

5

TLDR (Too long; didn’t read)

118,600

6

IYKYK (If you know, you know)

98,500

7

OFC (Of course)

96,300

8

IMO (In my opinion)

75,100

9

IIRC (If I recall correctly)

65,900

10

HMU (Hit me up)

64,300

11

LMAO (Laughing my ass off)

63,700

12

AFK (Away from keyboard)

59,250

13

NGL (Not gonna lie)

59,100

14

OOTD (Outfit of the day)

55,800

15

IG (I guess)

53,500

16

TBH (To be honest)

51,350

17

TTYL (Talk to you later)

51,150

18 (tie)

DM (Direct message)

46,800

19 (tie)

YOLO (You only live once)

46,800

20

FWIW (For what it’s worth)

44,400

On its own, SMH had a total of 231,450 average monthly searches in the U.S. This abbreviation comes with many meanings: One may use it to indicate disapproval, disbelief, or disappointment.

The second most-searched acronym is POV, with an average of 155,800 monthly queries. It’s especially popular on TikTok, where the hashtag indicates that viewers should imagine themselves in the same situation as the person who made the post. The person who’s sharing their point of view is often in front of the camera instead of behind it, which can be confusing for anyone who’s familiar with the phrase in its more literal sense.

NSFW comes in third place, with 126,800 monthly searches. If you receive something that is labeled as such, you might not want to open it at your place of employment. As the name suggests, the media is inappropriate for work and should be viewed in private. 

Some may be surprised to see YOLO (you only live once) on the list. Although the acronym dates back to the 1960s and was popular among Millennials in the early 2010s, it still has a monthly search volume of 46,800. In case you need a refresher, someone usually says “YOLO” before doing something reckless.

LMAO (laughing my ass off), TTYL (talk to you later), and TBH (to be honest) are other early-internet abbreviations that haven’t gone out of style. They have a monthly search average of 63,700; 51,150; and 51,350, respectively.  

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