2000s Slang: 30 Incredible Terms You Need to Know

The 2000s saw the rise of the internet, social media, streaming services, and multifunctional cell phones. The slang of this decade was equally remarkable, with terms like amazeballs and mukbang becoming part of the cultural lexicon. Here are some expressions you might not have known originated in the 2000s and 2010s.

Amazeballs (2008)

This term, meaning awesome, first appeared in a video on the YouTube channel Jessica & Hunter, where Jessica described a party as “amazeballs.” While other terms like exhaustballs and starveballs also used the -balls suffix, as noted by the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), they never gained the same popularity.

Awesomesauce (2001)

Derived from the 1989 term weak sauce, which described something as “lacking power, substance, or credibility; pathetic or worthless,” awesomesauce signifies something “extremely good or excellent.” It first appeared in September 2001 on the alt.tv.kids-in-hall Usenet group.

Badonkadonk (2003)

According to Green’s Dictionary of Slang, this term for the buttocks was first used in Keith Murray’s “Da Ba Dunk Song.” The dictionary suggests the term might be “echoic of the sound of buttocks hitting a hard surface,” though its exact origin remains uncertain.

Blue State and Red State (2000)

The terms red state and blue state, used to describe U.S. states likely to vote Republican or Democrat, respectively, are relatively recent. They originated during the 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. As noted by the OED, “The color assignment is arbitrary, and prior to 2000, the media had occasionally reversed the colors in election coverage.” Today, these terms describe states with consistent voting patterns, and their residents are referred to as blue staters or red staters, terms also coined in 2000.

Brinicle (2011)

A blend of brine and icicle, this term describes “a long, icy tube formed around a plume of extremely cold, salty seawater, often extending from an ice sheet to the ocean floor.” The word was popularized in a November 2011 episode of Frozen Planet, which captured the phenomenon on film for the first time. Although identified in the 1960s as ice stalactites, brinicles are both stunning and lethal, earning the nickname “icicles of death” for their ability to freeze seafloor creatures in place.

Bromance (2001)

This fusion of bro and romance first appeared in the April 2001 issue of TransWorld Surf magazine. Editor Chris Cote remarked in 2013, as the print edition ceased, “We were trailblazers, introducing innovations like flash light surf photography and coining terms like ‘bromance,’ which has since become a staple in pop culture. Our humor was inspired by skate magazines.”

Debbie Downer (2004)

Shortly after Rachel Dratch introduced this memorable character in a May 2004 episode of Saturday Night Live, the term Debbie Downer became widely used to describe “someone who is consistently pessimistic, negative, or gloomy.” The OED notes that Gwyneth Paltrow referred to herself as “a Debbie Downer” during an August 2004 appearance on Oprah.

Dumpster Fire (2008)

Originally referring to literal fires in dumpsters, the term dumpster fire gained a figurative meaning in 2008. It was first used to describe “a chaotic, disastrous, or poorly managed situation; a complete mess or embarrassment” in a pro-wrestling Usenet group discussing the animated film Shrek the Third: “Shrek 3 was a dumpster fire, don’t even get me started.”

Eggcorn (2003)

This term, referring to “a modification of a word or phrase resulting from mishearing or reinterpreting its elements as similar-sounding words,” emerged in 2003. It pays homage to the 18th-century folk-etymological alteration of acorn. Eggcorns are everywhere—check if you’ve used any of these commonly misheard phrases on this list.

Fatberg (2008)

While fatbergs have existed as long as sewers, they were officially named in January 2008 after masses of cooking grease washed ashore in the UK. These enormous sewer blockages, composed of fats, oils, and greases (FOG), can grow as large as buses or airplanes. The name, combining fat and iceberg, is fitting. For more fascinating and gross details about fatbergs, explore our list here.

Glamping (2005)

Defined by the OED as “a style of camping that offers accommodations and amenities more luxurious than traditional camping,” this fusion of glamour or glamorous with camping first appeared in 2005.

Headdesk (2002)

A relative of facepalm, headdesk—“the act of striking one’s head, often repeatedly, against a desk or table, typically as an exaggerated gesture of frustration or exasperation”—was first mentioned in the alt.drunken.bastards Usenet group in January 2002. As the OED explains, it’s usually used figuratively, “in a humorous or hypothetical context, especially in online communication.”

Hyphy (2002)

The OED cannot trace the exact origin of this term—meaning “extremely wild, excited, or full of energy”—though it may stem from hype or hyper. (“Rapper ‘Keak da Sneak’ is often credited with coining the term in the 1990s,” the OED states, “but no concrete evidence supports this claim.”) It first appeared in the title of a 2002 song by Lil Jordan.

Mukbang (2013)

This term originates from two Korean words: meok, meaning “to eat,” and bang, short for bangsong, meaning “broadcast.” A mukbang refers to a video where someone consumes large quantities of food while engaging in conversation.

Nang (2002)

Similar to hyphy, the etymology of this British slang term—“a general expression of approval: good, excellent, cool”—remains unclear. It first surfaced on the BBC’s website in 2002.

Nomophobia (2008)

Blending no, the mo from mobile, and phobia, nomophobia describes the fear or anxiety of being without access to a mobile phone. It was first documented in The Daily Mail in 2008.

Omnishambles (2009)

Today, this British term—a fusion of omni, meaning “in all ways,” and shambles, referring to a chaotic mess—is often used to describe a political scenario “that has been entirely mishandled, marked by a series of errors and poor decisions.” Coined by The Thick of It writer Tony Roche in 2009, it initially referred to “a person or group blamed for such a situation.” The term gained traction after Labour leader Ed Miliband used it in the House of Commons to criticize then-Prime Minister David Cameron: “So, Mr. Speaker,” Miliband remarked, “we’re eager to hear the prime minister’s explanation for why, four weeks post-budget, even his own team labels it an ‘omnishambles’ budget.” Ouch!

Photobombing (2008)

While photobombing has existed in practice for years, the term itself wasn’t coined until 2008, when it appeared on a UK-based blog.

Podcasting (2004)

“With MP3 players like Apple’s iPod in countless pockets, affordable or free audio production software, and weblogging already a staple of the internet, all the elements were in place for a surge in amateur radio. But what should it be called?” Ben Hammersley of The Guardian pondered in 2004. “Audioblogging? Podcasting? GuerillaMedia?” Podcasting—a blend of the pod from iPod and casting from broadcasting—caught on, and today, with millions of episodes, it has evolved far beyond its amateur roots.

Selfie (2002)

It’s hard to imagine, but the OED traces the first use of selfie to 2002, when it appeared on an Australian online forum (a user apologized for a blurry photo, saying, “it was a selfie”). The word was frequently spelled selfy in its early days; Judy Pearsall, Editorial Director of Oxford Dictionaries when selfie was named Word of the Year in 2013, observed that “the -ie suffix softens the narcissistic nature of the act, making it more charming.”

Sext (2001)

The OED’s earliest record of sext—a “provocative message or image sent electronically, usually via a mobile phone”—comes from a November 2001 issue of The Sun, where someone mentioned being “Embarrassed by a ‘sext’ message.”

Shizzle (2001)

Frequently used in phrases like fo’ shizzle, this term—a slang way of saying “sure”—has its roots in rap and hip-hop culture. Here’s an early example from The Daily News: “Fo’ shizzle, this Dizzle is hizz-ot. Need a translation? Ask Snoop Dogg. In the rapper’s signature style of rhyming with ‘izz’ and ‘izzles,’ that phrase roughly means: ‘For sure, this Dogg is hot.’”

Sharenting (2012)

This blend of share and parenting can mean either dividing parenting duties or a parent sharing details about their child—whether updates or cute pictures—on social media. This latter meaning also gave rise to the term oversharenting, which is self-explanatory.

Showrooming (2009)

Tl;dr (2002)

This short form for too long; didn’t read is primarily used online. According to the OED, it serves as “a dismissive reply to a lengthy account or narrative, or as a way to introduce a summary of a longer text; (b) adj. referring to a brief summary of a more extensive piece.” It first appeared in response to a post titled “My Thoughts on Metroid Prime (Long)” in the rec.games.video.nintendo Usenet group. Apparently, it was too long.

Totes (2006)

Turnt (2005)

This term—used as slang to describe being extremely intoxicated—was popular in rap and hip-hop circles during the mid-2000s.

Unfriend (2003)

While the word unfriend first appeared in Thomas Fuller’s 1659 book The Appeal of Injured Innocence (“I Hope, Sir, that we are not mutually Un-friended by this Difference which hath happened betwixt us”), it wasn’t used again until 2003. That year, a Usenet group member used it to mean “removing someone from a social networking site’s friends or contacts list,” as noted by the OED. The term defriend emerged in 2004.

Yarn Bombing (2009)

Yarn bombing—also known as “yarn storming”—describes “the act of covering or decorating public objects or monuments with vibrant knitted or crocheted pieces as a form of street art.” The OED cites its first mention in a January 2009 Daily Mail article, though the practice likely began earlier: “The trend, called Yarnbombing, is believed to have started in the U.S. but has since spread to British streets, where knitters are leaving woolen ‘tags.’” (In Australia and the UK, it’s sometimes referred to as “graffiti knitting.”)