Twitter - 30 Must-Know Twitter Abbreviations and Acronyms

If you’re new to Twitter (heck, even if you’re a veteran), the number of acronyms people use on the popular social media channel is astonishing. People regularly use and create new acronyms and abbreviations on Twitter because of the 140-character limit.

I have compiled a list of what I believe are some of the most commonly used ones and their meanings.

Must-Knows

RT – Retweet – This means the tweet you are reading was not original to that Twitter user; they have retweeted that message to their followers…and you
MT – Modified Tweet - This means that someone has retweeted someone else’s tweet, but has modified it from the original tweet
DM – Direct Message – A direct message is a private tweet that only the sender and receiver can see; sort of like a 140 character email
#FF – Follow Friday (or Feature Friday) – On Fridays, people will put “#FF” and then list a bunch of people on Twitter. By doing this, they are essentially endorsing these accounts and are recommending to their followers to go ahead and give them a follow as well

Common Abbreviations and Acronyms on Twitter

<3 – Love - This “less than three” acronym is used to be a crudely-shaped heart and is used to signify the word “love”
2 – To/Too/Two - Short way to say “to”, “too”, or “two” that conserves characters
4 – For – Short way to say “for” that conserves characters
B4 – Before – Short way to say “before” that conserves characters
BC, B/C – Because – Short way to say “because” that conserves characters
BTW – By The Way – Short way to say “by the way” that conserves characters
CHK – Check – Short way to say “check” that conserves characters
EM, EML – Email – Short way to say “email” that conserves characters
FB – Facebook – Short way to say “Facebook” that conserves characters
GR8 – Great – Short way to say “great” that conserves characters
HT – Hat Tip – This acronym is used when someone wants to virtually give credit to, or tip their hat at someone
IDC – I Don’t Care – Short way to say “I don’t care” that conserves characters
IDK – I Don’t Know – Short way to say “I don’t know” that conserves characters
IMO – In My Opinion – Short way to say “in my opinion” that conserves characters
JK – Just Kidding – Short way to say “just kidding” that conserves characters
LI – LinkedIn – Short way to say “LinkedIn” that conserves characters
LOL – Laugh Out Loud – People put this acronym when they want to show that they laughed in response
NSFW – Not Safe For Work – This acronym means that the link contains adult material and is like it says, not safe to view at work
PPL – People – Short way to say “People” that conserves characters
RE – Reply – Short way to show that someone is replying to another’s tweet
S/O – Shout Out – This acronym is used when someone wants to give praise or a shout-out to another person on Twitter
TMB – Tweet Me Back – Put in tweets when someone wants others to respond to their tweet
TY – Thank You – Short way to say “thank you” that conserves characters
U – You – Short way to say “you” that conserves characters
YT – YouTube - Short way to say “YouTube” that conserves characters
YW – You’re Welcome – Short way to say “you’re welcome” that conserves characters

If I missed any that you commonly use, let me know in the comments.

-Lance Brown

Follow Lance on Twitter: @WTWH_SocialGuru