I have a pre-teen girl and she was absolutely mortified when my friend shared a teen slang dictionary with me, and we reeled off some of the current teen slang words in the UK. As many in my generation will find, today’s teen slang is completely alien to me, none of the words seem to make any sense! So if you’re a parent of a teen in the UK, you might find this list of teen slang words rather useful.
Teen Slang Words
Allow it — leave it alone / stop / let it go.
Bait — obvious / easily caught / too noticeable. (“That’s so bait.”)
Bantz / Banter — playful joking or teasing.
Bare — a lot of / very. (“Bare people turned up.”)
Beef — argument or conflict. (“They’ve got beef.”)
Beg — someone desperate for attention or favours. (“He’s such a beg.”)
Big man — used mockingly for someone acting tough or adult.
Bizzies — police (regional, e.g. Liverpool).
Blates / Blatantly — obviously. (“Blates he’s lying.”)
Boomer — older, out of touch person (often jokey).
Bruv — mate / bro (especially London).
Buki — weird, suspicious, off. (London slang).
Bussin’ — really good, usually for food.
Butters — unattractive / ugly.
Calm — okay / cool / relaxed. (“It’s calm, don’t worry.”)
Cheeky — slightly naughty, playful, or funny.
Cheffed — stabbed (London slang, serious).
Cheugy — outdated or trying too hard.
Chirpsing — flirting / chatting someone up.
Chopped — ugly, unattractive.
Clapped — ugly, unattractive.
Clout — influence / popularity (esp. online).
Clout chaser — someone desperate for attention/fame.
Cringe — embarrassing, awkward.
Delulu — jokingly delusional or unrealistic.
Dead — boring / rubbish / lifeless. (“That party was dead.”)
Dingy — dodgy, sketchy area or vibe.
Donny — bloke / guy (London slang).
Drip — style, outfit, fashion.
Drip check — showing off your outfit.
Ends — local area or neighbourhood. (“He’s from my ends.”)
Feds — police.
Finessed — tricked / scammed / got away with something cleverly.
Fit — attractive. (“She’s fit.”)
Flames — amazing, cool. (“That song is flames.”)
Gaff — house, especially for parties. (“We’re having a gaff Friday.”)
Gassed — excited, hyped, or full of yourself.
Get waved — get drunk or high.
Ghosting — cutting off contact without explanation.
Glow-up — big improvement in appearance or confidence.
Goblin mode — lazy, messy, not caring about appearances.
Gobsmacked — astonished.
Grill — face. (“Look at his grill.”)
Gutted — very disappointed.
Ick (The ick) — sudden repulsion towards someone you liked.
Innit — isn’t it / right? (very common filler).
Jarring — annoying, irritating. (“You’re so jarring.”)
Jokes — funny. (“That was jokes.”)
Leng — very attractive or fit.
Link — meet up or a person you’re seeing casually. (“She’s my link.”)
Lit — lively, fun, exciting.
Lock in — focus seriously on something (also party slang, “lock-in”).
Lowkey — slightly, quietly, secretly.
Lush — nice, lovely, attractive (esp. Northern/West Country).
Main character energy — acting confident like you’re the star.
Mandom — group of lads / male friend group.
Mandem — (alt. spelling) same as above.
Matey — slightly mocking way to say “mate.”
Mid — mediocre, average.
Miffed — annoyed.
Mug — idiot / person being taken advantage of.
Mugged off — disrespected / made a fool of.
Neek — nerd / socially awkward person.
Nuff — a lot. (“Nuff people came.”)
On job — focused / doing well / paying attention.
On road — street lifestyle / being out & about (urban slang).
Ops — enemies / opposition (from “opposition”).
Pagan — untrustworthy person / enemy (road slang).
Peak — bad luck / unfortunate situation.
Peng — attractive or tasty.
Piff — very attractive / good.
Proper — really / very. (“Proper nice.”)
Pumped — excited / ready.
Rattled — shaken, upset, thrown off.
Ratted — messy, chaotic (esp. about parties).
Reckon — think / believe (common informal UK word).
Rizz — flirting charm, pulling ability.
Safe — good, cool, trustworthy. (“He’s safe.”)
Savage — harsh / brutal (joking or serious).
Send it — go for it, take a risk.
Shook — shocked.
Sick — amazing, cool.
Simp / Simping — showing too much affection or attention.
Skint — broke, no money.
Slay — do something amazingly or look great.
Snakey — untrustworthy, backstabbing.
Spill the tea / Tea — gossip.
Sussed / Sus — suspicious, figured out.
Tap — crazy or weird (London slang).
Ting — attractive girl or person.
Top bloke / Top lass — really good guy/girl, high praise.
Trollied — very drunk.
Unreal — excellent, amazing.
Vexed — angry, annoyed.
Vibe / Vibey — the atmosphere or mood.
W / Big W — win, good thing.
Wagwan — greeting (“What’s going on?”)
Wasteman — useless or annoying person.
Well — very / really. (“That’s well good.”)
Yard — house / home.
Yolo / Do it for the plot — take a risk for the story
I hope you enjoyed this list of teen slang words current in the UK at the moment. If you’d like to add any to this list, please let me know in the comments below.
