16 Essential Millennial Slang Terms You Need to Learn

Attention, thinkpiece writers: Millennials are no longer the face of ‘kids these days.’ Born between 1981 and 1996, the youngest Millennials are now 28, while the oldest are 43 in 2024. As a result, many of the slang terms they championed in their younger years have lost some of their cultural relevance. Still, plenty of Millennials cling to their 2014-era lingo, even as their Gen Z siblings on TikTok mock their humblebrags about adulting. Dive into the origins and meanings of these Millennial-coined phrases below.

1. Humblebrag

When you want to showcase your achievements without seeming arrogant, the humblebrag is your go-to move. By downplaying your accomplishments with a casual or self-effacing tone, you can share your wins without appearing boastful (or so you hope). Social media became the perfect stage for humblebragging as Millennials began hitting major life milestones. Phrases like I did a thing or I made a thing are prime examples of this trend. But beware: A study from 2018 found that humblebragging might actually make people dislike you more.

2. Doggo

3. Adulting

4. Totes

Don’t mix it up with the canvas bags; totes is a shortened version of totally. It’s famously used in phrases like totes my goats, totes McGoats, or totes magoats, all of which express enthusiastic agreement. Paul Rudd’s character in the 2009 comedy I Love You, Man helped cement this phrase in Millennial slang.

5. Bae

The term bae, originating from AAVE (African American Vernacular English, also called African American Language or AAL), initially referred to a significant other. By 2014, it had been co-opted by brands to market products (e.g., “Mountain Dew is the bae”), which made its use feel less genuine and more ironic.

6. It Me

Millennials use it me to express a personal connection to something, often in a humorous or self-deprecating way. The intentionally incorrect grammar adds to its charm. For example, someone might comment “it me” on a relatable but cringe-worthy social media post.

7. On Fleek

The phrase On Fleek gained popularity on Vine, the quintessential Millennial social media platform. In a short video posted on June 21, 2014, 16-year-old Kayla Lewis used it to compliment her perfectly shaped eyebrows. While on fleek now describes anything that’s flawless, it’s still most closely tied to impeccably groomed brows.

8. Ghosting

With the shift of dating to online platforms, Millennials introduced the term ghosting to describe a phenomenon unique to their generation. It refers to suddenly cutting off all communication with someone without explanation. While this behavior predates apps like Tinder, the constant presence of phones today makes it feel more jarring and harder to ignore.

9. Cool beans

The phrase cool beans serves as a quirky alternative to cool, conveying approval or enthusiasm. The origin of the word beans in this context remains a mystery. Merriam-Webster traces its usage back to 1985, when the oldest Millennials were only toddlers. While they didn’t invent the term, Millennials helped popularize it during the 1990s and 2000s.

10. FOMO

The acronym FOMO (pronounced foh-moh) stands for “fear of missing out.” It captures the anxiety of feeling left out when others are enjoying themselves. As social media became ubiquitous in the 2000s, FOMO became a defining aspect of the Millennial experience.

11. Basic

Millennials brought the term basic into the mainstream as a way to mock someone (often a woman) for following overused trends. In the 2010s, this included UGG boots, yoga pants, and pumpkin spice lattes. Gen Z later redefined the idea with the term cheugy, which describes anything outdated, often because it was once favored by basic Millennials.

12. Smol

This playful spelling of small is used to describe something irresistibly tiny and cute, like a puppy or kitten. If the subject is exceptionally little, it earns the title of smol bean (beans seem to be a recurring motif in Millennial slang). The term smol often pairs with doggo, another key piece of Millennial vocabulary.

13. Yas

While it gained popularity as Millennial slang in the 2000s, yas has its roots in queer, POC subcultures of the 1980s. This lively variation of yes! was frequently heard at balls, where participants (often in drag) showcased their boldest looks. The ballroom scene introduced many terms that have since been adopted by mainstream culture, including werk, shade, and serving.

14. Stan

Gen Xer Eminem introduced this widely used Millennial slang term. In his 2000 song ”Stan,“ he tells the story of an overly obsessed fan named Stan. Initially, being a Stan had negative implications, but by the 2010s, it evolved into a more acceptable term. Today, it refers to any passionate fan of a pop culture figure, used as both a noun and a verb (e.g., ”I’m a Taylor Swift Stan“ or ”I Stan Taylor Swift“). While many embrace the label, it’s also linked to the rise of toxic fan culture.

15. YOLO

Short for ”you only live once,“ YOLO is the optimistic counterpart to FOMO. While its earliest recorded use traces back to the 1960s, it became a Millennial catchphrase in the early 2010s. It’s often used to rationalize impulsive actions, like spending all your savings on a trip or deciding to go skydiving on a whim.

16. Squad goals

The term squad, referring to a close-knit group of friends, originated in '90s and 2000s hip-hop culture. According to Vice, artists like Waka Flocka, Lil Wayne, and Fat Joe were among the first to popularize it. By the 2010s, the term took on a more feminine tone, largely due to the widely publicized group of friends Taylor Swift gathered during her 1989 era. Around the same time, the phrase squad goals emerged, often used in contexts like, ”Did you see Taylor Swift’s Fourth of July party photos? Total squad goals!“