You have seen funny and ridiculous images and video clips or GIFs on the internet with a hashtag “#LOL.” Often chat app or social media platform users type this acronym during their chatting. But what dies this particular short-form mean? What is LOL, full form? Many people may have wondered about the meaning of this little hand. LOL means” Laughing Out Loud.”
It is not an acronym. It is an internet slang. Some people call this type of shorthands, chatspeak, Cyuver slangs, cyber shorthand, text jargon, or internet acronyms. That means these types of tents are used to define or express a phrase or short sentence or expressions.
So, LOL is a part of the language of the internet. It is widely used on Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter, Instagram, or snapchat. These are abbreviations that are specially designed by social media and internet users.
Meaning of LOL
Now you know LOL is a type of social jargon or internet acronyms. Its purpose is quite impressive. LOL is used to describe a situation that is very funny and makes you laugh hard instantly. So, LOL is used to define anything hilarious. For example, it can be a funny image or a video clip.
Interestingly, any internet slang can have multiple meanings. That means a single acronym may have another purpose. It is often confusing. Another definition of “#lol” is “Lots of laughs”. It is quite similar to “Laughing Out Loud.”
Some Examples
| 1-a) Saw this little boy crying because he was absent in his parents’ marriage ceremony!LOL!
1-b) LOL! I bet the parents had a rough time to calm him! |
| 2-a) My little sister thought limes were sweet and tasted it. Now she believes that the lime is an “evil orange!”
2-b) LOL! Kids can be strange at times |
| 3-a) Look that person just sprayed the ketchup by mistake!
3-b) LOL! I think he didn’t notice that it was ketchup. |
| 4-a) The video clip is so funny!
4-b) LOL! I am laughing so hard that I started crying! |
| 5. Guess what! Your old yearbook picture will always make you remember how wicked your dressing sense was! LOL! |
| 6-a) My son just started crying because of the tomato ketchup on pizza! He thinks the pizza has an accident!
6-b) lol! I don’t know what to say! It is hilarious! |
| 7-a) Look at this video, the parrot is talking nonsense words.
7-b) Maybe its owner taught!LOL! 7-a) Maybe, but it is not funny!LOL! |
| 8-a) Look at this! It was me with a bowl hair cut ten years ago! 8-b) LOL! You look different! I bet it was weird to get a bowl hair cut! |
| 9-a) Did you see the picture John uploaded?
9-b) Yes, it was that swimming pool mishap! 9-a) It was such a funny accident! 9-b) LOL! Yes, it was! |
| 10) My little niece thought that fairies repaired her dress while it was my sister who stitched it!LOL!
11) When I was young, I thought I could fly with a broomstick!LOL! |
Example Of wrong use
The truth is many people(who are new to the internet) have a misconception. Although internet acronyms can have different meanings, “LOL” has a special meaning attached to it. That is, “laugh out loud” or “ lots of laughs.” Many p[eople use LOL for “lots of love,” which is not right.
So, if you do not know the meaning of LOL, make sure to remember it and use it wisely. If you do not use it properly, you may offend the other person or the receiver of your text.
Here is an example which shows this mistake-
- X: I got the degree!Yay!
- Y: Wow, congratulations. Your dream came true at last.
- X: Yes, I feel soo good.
- Y: LOL
- X: What is so funny about it?
- Y: I didn’t say it was funny.
- X: Then, LOL?
- Y: lots of love!
- X: It is not that way.
- LOL is laughing out loud
- Y: Oops, Sorry!
- So, as an acronym or jargon user, you have to be careful about its meaning./
So, it is now clear what does LOL means. It is one of the most common and regu; early used acronym or slang on the internet. It is often used.
But LOL can be used in different ways. Anyone can use it as a verb or even interjection.
LOL as a verb
LOL becomes a verb in many cases.
Examples
- We were practically lolling after we saw that funny image. It was hard not to laugh!(Present continuous Tense)
- They have already lol’d/lold/lolled/lolled a lot after reading this status update. (Present Perfect Tense)
Here you can see that LOL has become a verb and changes its form according to tense.
But, in most cases, LOL is used as an interjection. For example,
LOL! The little girls were imitating their mothers so perfectly and in a funny way that we all just started to laugh.
LOL also becomes LOLZ or LOLS or LULZ in many cases. All of these forms are the same and have the same meaning.
LOL has different forms. It is used to define the amusement and hilarious situations through texts.
Similar internet slangs like LOL
Many other internet slangs have the same meaning as LOL. These are also used to describe amusing or hilarious situations.
- ROFL- Rolling on the floor laughing
Example
A: He accidentally burned his noodles.
B: How?
A: He forgot to add eater in the noodle cup before putting it in the microwave.
B: That’s so funny!ROFL
- LMAO- laughing my *ss off
Example
X: Did you see the latest episode of the serial?
Y: yeah, and I’m still in the LMAO moment!
X: Me too!
- ROFLMAO- rolling on the floor laughing my *ss off
- HAHAHA- laughter
- BWAHAHA- maniacal laughter
- MWAHAHA- evil laughter
- PMSL- p*ssing myself laughing
Examples- Saw the kid version of avengers, and it was so funny!PMSL.
LOL has some other similar acronyms in other languages also. English is one of the most spoken words. But, that does not mean acronyms only exist in English. Hence, internet slang like LOL often become regional with another language. For example-
- In France, people use “MDR” which is the short form of “ mort de rire”. This French phrase means “dying out in laughter.”
- In that land, LOL becomes 555. That is because the Thai alphabet “h” looks like “5”. Hence, to describe a funny situation, Thai people use “555,” which means”hahaha.”
- In Sweden, people use ASG instead of LOL.
- Indonesian people use “wkwkwk” for LOL or HAHAHA.
What ae the internet slangs/ internet jargon/ cyber shorthands/ chatspeak?
Now, you have learned a lot about LOL. It is a type of common acronym or internet slang. But what are these internet slangs in real?
Well, internet users invented their code language. It was first developed by email users who used emails to communicate with their friends and family members besides proper use. These slangs are acronyms thaat are short forms of regular words or expressions. These shortened expressions are also called chatspeak, cyber shorthand, cyber slangs, etc.
The truth is emails or any chatting platform used to have a word or character restriction. These made sending longer texts extremely difficult. Besides that, there was a higher cost and other factors. Hence, those who used the internet started to shorten their language with their standard.
No one can get enough of these acronyms. Internet acronyms allow you to type faster and save character space and time. It also allows you to convey your feelings with letters accurately.
At the starting of the internet slang era, there was only the shorthand for particular alphabets.
i.e.,
- For- 4
- Be- BN
- See- C
- Eye- I
- Owe- O
- Ohh- O
- Are- R
- You- U
- Why- Y
- To- 2
After these words, stated to become smaller-
- See you- CU
- Before- B4
- Tomorrow- 2moro/2mrw
- Night- N8
- Good- GD/G
- Good MORNING- gm
- Thank you- TU
Etc.
Then as the social media platforms came and more and more people started to use it, the phrases were shortened, and it gave birth to internet slang or cyber acronym or cyber shorthands. Now, LOL full form id “Laughing out loud” or “lots of laughs”.
Some of the common cyber acronyms are-
- ASAP- As Soon As Possible
- ASL- Age/Sex/Location
- AEAP- As soon as possible
- BFF- best friends forever
- BRB- Be right back
- B4YKI- Before you know it
- BRT- be right there
- CP- sleepy
- CYT- See you tomorrow
- CYL- see you later
- CTN- cannot talk now
- CUS- See you soon
- Dm- Direct message
- EM?- excuse me
- GR8- great
- IDK- I don’t know
- IDC- I don’t care
- IMU- I miss you
- ILU/ILY- I love you
- JTLYK- Just ket you know
- L8R- later
- MYOB- Mind your own business
- NC- no comments
- NP- no problem
- NVM- never mind
- OMG- Oh my goodness/ Oh my god
- OIC- oh I see
- OMW-on my Way
- POV- point of view
- ROTFL- Rolling on the floor laughing
- SFLR- Sorry for the late reply
- TIA- Thanks in advance
- TQ-Thank you
- TYVM- thank you very much
- TYT- take your time
- TTYL- Talk to you later
- TC- take care
- UR- your/ you are
- W8- Wait
- WB- Welcome back
- Rip- Rest in peace
- RI8- right
- XOXO- hugs and kisses
Why is the Internet slang capitali
zed?
A significant part of internet users capitalizes on their acronyms or internet slangs. But there is no need to do so. For these internet slangs is not that much famous now. You can use either uppercase (LOL) or lowercase alphabets(lol) according to your choice.
Punctuation
Just like capitalization, punctuation also does not hold particular importance. The punctuation is not used with these internet shorthands. That means TTYL cannot be written as T. T. Y. L.
Some points that you need to remember
Internet jargons are tempting. These acronyms save time and allow you to type faster. But you cannot use ta jargon in every situation. You need to think about the person you are talking about before using a jargon. That is if you are talking to someone officially, try to avoid internet slangs. Make a little effort and type in detail. Because jargon in official conversation may make you appear too casual or incompetent. So, never use any internet slang during talking to someone officially.
You can use internet jargon in your social media status, twitter updates, Instagram uploads, or in personal text messages as much as you want. These conversations are private and informal, and you do not need to be professional with the person you are conversing with. Hence, cyber shorthands are enough.
So, in a nutshell, LOL is a cyber slang or internet slang, which is used to describe a very amusing situation. It helps the users to express the case when they are laughing hard. LOL can be used as both verb and interjection, and it also has similar acronyms like ROFL, HAHAHA, etc.
There are many other cyber slangs or cyber shorthands like TTYL, RIP, CU, ASAP, etc. All of these have their meaning. Internet shorthands must be used in casual conversations only. For professional communications, writing the proper words will be a far better choice.
