Many of my tweeps (Twitter people) have asked me lately about various acronyms, odd lingo and twords (Twitter words).
I’ve compiled below a shortlist of the most popular terms many active Twitterers, including myself, use in everyday tweets.
First, what is a tweet? If you’re new to Twitter, I appreciate even the word “tweet” may sound odd! It’s your 140-character “instant message” or “mini/micro-blog post” that you send out into the world… particularly to your followers (fellow Twitter members who “subscribe” to your tweets).
For a crash course on getting set up on Twitter and using it effectively for business networking, presence-building, branding and connecting with your marketplace, see these two related posts:
- Twitter Buzz! Quick Tips for Business Peeps and
- How To Increase Interaction With Your Facebook and Twitter Network.
You may also enjoy my friend @CoachDeb’s hot NEW publication The Twitter Handbook!
Twords (Twitter words)
I encourage you to familiarize yourself with many of these Twitter terms so (a) you can understand tweets sent to you! and (b) when you need more characters to say what you want to say, you can always shorten with a few abbreviations!
1 = one, won
2 = to, too, two
4 = for, four
4ward = forward
4U = for you
ab or abt = about
B = be
b4 = before
b/c = because
BFN = bye for now
bgd = background
BR = best regards
BTW = by the way
chk = check
cld = could
clk = click
da = the
deets = details
DM = direct message
EM/eml = email
EMA = email address
fab = fabulous
fav/fave = favorite
F2F = face to face (as in meeting someone in person)
FYI = for your information
fwd = forward
GR8 = great
IC = I see
IM = instant message
itz = it is
IRL = in real life
JK or j/k = just kidding
JSYK = just so you know
IMHO = in my humble opinion
K = okay
kewl = cool
L8 = late
L8er = later
lmk = let me know
LOL = laughing out loud
LMAO = laughing my ass off
mil = million
Njoy = enjoy
OH = overheard
OMG = oh my god/gosh
peeps = people
pple = people
props = proper respect (see 4th definition here)
plz = please
R = are
ROFL = rolling on the floor laughing
RT / Retweet = when you repeat a tweet from someone else
RU? = are you?
shld = should
thx/tx = thanks
TIA = thanks in advance
tweeps / tweeple = peeps / people (on Twitter)
TY = thanks (my hubby’s name is Ty, so I prefer thx for thanks, hehee!)
ttyl = talk to you later
ttys = talk to you soon
TYT = take your time
TYVM = thank you very much
Tweetup = an in-person meet up of Twitter members
U = you
u’ve = you have
ur = your
V2V = voice to voice (as in chatting on the phone)
w or w/ = with
w/e = weekend
wazzup?/whaddup? = what’s up?
wld = would
wth = what the heck
wtf = what the f*** (hopefully you don’t see/use this one much!)
woz = was
w00t! = an expression of joy/excitement!
yep/yeppers = yes (lol, okay I know yeppers isn’t *short* for yes!)
yr = your
YW = you’re welcome
YVW = you’re very welcome
For more ideas, see these resources:
- Chat, E-Mail, Web, and chat room slang and acronyms.
- Chat and SMS Text Acronyms
- Twitter Glossary (see huge list of Twitter words under “T”!)
- Twitter in Plain English – by Lee LeFever of CommonCraft.
- Twitter Tweet Sheet – for all mobile device users, this is a fabulous cheat sheet of Twitter commands.
- Find fab peps to follow and add your own Twitter ID too on the Twitter thread at my Facebook Fan Page!
Got more twords and acronyms to add? What did I miss?! 
Add yours in the comments below and/or ask me to find the meaning of any acronyms!
