Glossary

Social Media Glossary: 100+ Terms, Slang and Metrics

Updated 10 min read
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A social media glossary is an alphabetical list of the terms, acronyms and slang used on social platforms, each with a short definition. This one defines more than 100, from features like Stitch to metrics like CTR and slang like delulu.

Every entry stands on its own; 33 also link to a full page for details such as how a number is counted or a second meaning. Outfeed AI, which publishes to Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest and Bluesky, maintains it, so the platform terms are ones we use daily.

Table of Contents

How This Social Media Glossary Is Kept Current

Last reviewed: 25 September 2026, at 105 terms. The glossary is reviewed monthly, because social media terminology keeps moving: Instagram retired impressions from its API in April 2025, after making views its primary metric in 2024, and X has called retweets reposts since 2023.

Each review adds new terms and corrects changed ones. Features and metrics follow each platform’s own documentation, slang follows the major dictionaries where they cover it, and where a term’s origin is undocumented, the entry doesn’t guess.

Browse the Glossary by Type

All but one term falls into three groups; each name jumps to its entry.

The exception is Outfeed, the machine-shop word in our name.

A

Algorithm

A social media algorithm is the ranking system a platform uses to decide which posts each person sees, and in what order.

Alt text

Alt text is a written image description that screen readers read aloud; Instagram, X and LinkedIn let you write your own.

Ate

Ate is slang praise for doing something flawlessly, as in “she ate”; “ate and left no crumbs” is the emphatic version.

B

Bio

A bio is the short description on a profile that tells visitors who the account is and what it posts.

Block

Blocking an account stops it from seeing your profile or contacting you, and the major platforms don’t notify them.

Boosted post

A boosted post is an existing post that you pay a platform to show to more people.

Brand voice

Brand voice is the consistent personality a brand writes with, such as warm, dry or technical.

C

Cap and no cap

Cap is slang for a lie or an exaggeration, and “no cap” means “no lie” or “for real”.

Caption

Caption has a full page of its own rather than a one-line entry here: see what a caption means.

A carousel is a single post holding several photos or videos that viewers swipe through sideways; on Instagram, one carousel holds up to 20 items. Full entry: Instagram carousel specs and uses.

CFBR

CFBR stands for commenting for better reach: a comment, often just those four letters, left on a LinkedIn job-search post to help it travel further. Full entry: whether CFBR still works on LinkedIn.

Close Friends

Close Friends is an Instagram setting for sharing Stories with a hand-picked list rather than all followers, marked by a green ring.

Collab post

A Collab post is an Instagram post or reel co-authored by two or more accounts, shown on each profile with shared likes and comments.

Content calendar

A content calendar is a schedule of planned posts: what goes out, on which platform and when.

CPM

CPM stands for cost per mille: what an advertiser pays for every 1,000 impressions of an ad.

Cross-posting

Cross-posting is publishing the same content to more than one platform or account, ideally adapted to each one’s format.

CTA

A CTA, or call to action, is the line telling people what to do next, such as “save this” or “shop the link in bio”.

CTR

CTR, or click-through rate, is the percentage of impressions that led to a click: clicks divided by impressions, times 100.

Curated content

Curated content is other people’s material that an account shares, with credit, alongside its own posts.

D

Dark social

Dark social is sharing through private channels, such as DMs, messaging apps and email, that analytics tools can’t trace to a source.

Delulu

Delulu, short for delusional, is slang that Cambridge Dictionary defines as “believing things that are not real or true, usually because you choose to”.

Digital creator

A digital creator is someone who makes original videos, photos or writing and publishes the work online; it’s also a profile label on Facebook and Instagram. Full entry: the Digital creator label and job.

Display name

A display name is the name shown beside a profile’s @handle; unlike the handle, it doesn’t have to be unique.

DM

DM stands for direct message: a private message sent to one person or a small group inside a social media app, instead of being posted publicly. Full entry: what DM means in texting.

Duet

Duet is a TikTok feature that plays your video side by side with another creator’s; Instagram’s closest equivalent is Remix.

E

Engagement

Engagement is the number of actions people take on a post, such as reactions, comments, shares, saves and clicks; it counts actions, not people. Full entry: engagement on Facebook in 2026.

Engagement bait

Engagement bait is a post that explicitly asks for likes, comments, shares, tags or votes so it spreads further; Meta limits it under its distribution guidelines, and so does LinkedIn.

Engagement pod

An engagement pod is a group of accounts that agree to like and comment on each other’s posts; LinkedIn’s policies bar it.

Engagement rate

Engagement rate is interactions divided by an audience figure, such as reach, followers or views, times 100. See six ways to calculate engagement rate.

F

Feed

A feed is the scrolling stream of posts an app shows you, from accounts you follow, from recommendations or both.

Finsta

Finsta, short for “fake Instagram”, is a second, private Instagram account for close friends: one kind of spam account.

FOMO

FOMO stands for fear of missing out: the worry that other people are enjoying experiences or opportunities without you.

Forward (Instagram Stories)

In Instagram Story insights, Forward counts the taps viewers made to skip ahead to the next frame of a Story. Full entry: what Forward means in Story insights.

FYP

FYP stands for For You Page: TikTok’s main feed of recommended videos, picked for each viewer by TikTok’s recommendation system. Full entry: FYP meaning, and whether #fyp works.

G

Gatekeep

To gatekeep is to restrict others’ access to something; in social media slang, it means keeping a good find, like where you shopped, to yourself. Full entry: why “don’t gatekeep” is everywhere.

GRWM

GRWM stands for get ready with me: a video of someone doing their makeup, hair or outfit, usually while talking to the camera. Full entry: what GRWM videos are.

H

Handle

A social media handle is the unique username, usually written with an @, that identifies one account, such as @outfeedai on X. Full entry: handle rules for nine platforms.

Hashtag

A hashtag is a word or joined-up phrase after a hash symbol, which a platform turns into a clickable, searchable label. More in what hashtags are and how they work.

Highlights

Highlights are collections of past Instagram Stories pinned to a profile, where they outlast the usual 24 hours.

Hook

A hook is the first line of a post or the first seconds of a video, written to stop people scrolling.

I

IB

IB stands for inspired by: a credit on TikTok or Instagram, usually written IB @username, naming the creator whose idea a post borrows. Full entry: IB meaning on TikTok and Instagram.

ICYMI

ICYMI stands for in case you missed it: a label on a post or link that is being shared again. Full entry: ICYMI usage and tone.

IFYKYK

IFYKYK means “if you know, you know”, a variant of IYKYK that flags an inside joke only people with the backstory will get. Full entry: decoding an IFYKYK inside joke.

Impressions

Impressions count how often a post was shown on screen, including repeats to the same person; Meta now reports views instead, but LinkedIn and X still count them. See how impressions differ from reach among social media KPIs; for LinkedIn’s own counting rules, see what LinkedIn impressions count.

Influencer

An influencer is a creator whose recommendations sway what their followers buy, and whom brands pay to feature products.

Instagram Direct

Instagram Direct is Instagram’s built-in private messaging feature: the inbox for one-to-one and group chats, which the app now labels Messages. Full entry: Instagram Direct’s inbox and requests.

ION

In texts, lowercase “ion” is a phonetic spelling of “I don’t”, as in “ion know”; in capitals, ION can mean “in other news”. Full entry: what ion means in a text.

IRL

IRL stands for in real life: offline, as opposed to online.

ISO

In texts and posts, ISO means “in search of”, as in “ISO a used crib” or “ISO a roommate”. Full entry: what ISO means in a text.

K

KOL

KOL stands for key opinion leader: someone whose expertise or status gives their recommendations weight, a term common in Chinese and pharmaceutical marketing.

KPI

A KPI, or key performance indicator, is a metric tied to a business goal that a decision depends on. See social media KPIs with formulas and targets.

L

Link in bio means the clickable link in a profile that a post sends you to, because Instagram and TikTok captions can’t hold one. Full entry: which apps allow a link in bio.

Live

Going live means broadcasting video in real time, on apps such as TikTok, Instagram or YouTube while viewers comment.

Lowkey and highkey

Lowkey means quietly or somewhat, as in “I lowkey love this song”; highkey is the opposite, meaning openly or very much.

M

Mention

A mention is typing @ and another account’s handle in a post or comment, which links to and notifies that account.

Mid

Mid is slang for average or disappointing, as in “the sequel was mid”.

Mutuals

Mutuals are two accounts that follow each other, so each is the other’s mutual; the slang short form is moots. Full entry: mutuals and moots explained.

N

NGL

NGL stands for not gonna lie, used before an honest opinion or an awkward admission.

Notes (Instagram)

Instagram Notes are short text updates shown above the inbox for 24 hours, visible to followers you follow back or to Close Friends.

NSFW

NSFW stands for not safe for work: a warning that a post contains nudity, violence or other content you wouldn’t open in public.

O

OOMF

OOMF stands for “one of my followers” or “one of my friends”, a way to mention someone without naming or tagging them. Full entry: whether an OOMF post is about you.

OOTD

OOTD stands for outfit of the day: the clothes someone is wearing that day, and the photo or video they post to show them. Full entry: how to post an OOTD.

OP

OP stands for original poster: the person who started a thread or post, called “OP” in the replies.

Organic

Organic describes reach, content or traffic that isn’t paid for, as opposed to ads and boosted posts.

Outfeed

Outfeed is a machine-shop word for the exit side of a machine, where material comes out after being cut, planed or printed. It’s also our name: outfeed, the word versus Outfeed AI.

P

A paid partnership label is the tag a platform adds to show a post is sponsored; the FTC’s guide for influencers says not to rely on that tool alone.

PFP

PFP stands for profile picture: the photo, drawing or logo shown next to an account’s name, usually cropped to a small circle. Full entry: PFP meaning, from matching pfps to NFTs.

Pin

Pinning a post fixes it at the top of your profile or a comment thread; on Pinterest, a Pin is a saved image or video.

POV

POV stands for point of view; a TikTok or Reels caption starting “POV:” means the video casts the viewer as someone inside the scene. Full entry: how POV videos work.

Q

Quote post

A quote post shares someone else’s post with your comment on top, the original embedded below; on X it was called a quote tweet.

R

Ratio

Getting ratioed means the replies to your post, usually critical, draw more likes than the post itself: a public sign that people disagree.

Reach

Reach is the number of different people who saw a post, counting each person once however many times they saw it. See where reach fits among social media KPIs.

Reels

Reels are short, vertical, full-screen videos on Instagram and Facebook that the apps can recommend to people who don’t follow the creator. Full entry: Reels on Instagram and Facebook.

Repost

Repost is an Instagram button, added in August 2025, that shares someone else’s public post or reel with your followers, credited to its creator. Full entry: how Instagram’s Repost button works.

Rizz

Rizz is slang for charm, especially the ability to attract a romantic partner; Oxford University Press named it Word of the Year for 2023.

RT

RT stands for retweet: sharing someone’s post with your followers on X, where the button has been called Repost since 2023; in texts, RT can mean “real talk”. Full entry: all three meanings of RT.

S

Scheduling

Scheduling is setting a post to publish automatically at a chosen time, with a platform’s own tools or a third-party scheduler.

Shadowban

A shadowban is the informal term for a platform quietly limiting who sees an account’s posts; on Instagram, Account Status shows whether your content can be recommended. See how to check for an Instagram shadowban.

Shorts

YouTube Shorts are YouTube’s short vertical videos, watched in a swipeable feed much like TikTok or Instagram Reels.

Slay

Slay is slang praise for doing something extremely well or looking great, as in “you slayed that presentation”.

SMH

SMH stands for shaking my head, used to show disappointment or disbelief.

SMM

SMM stands for social media marketing: promoting a brand, product or service on social platforms; in job listings, it can mean social media manager. Full entry: SMM as marketing, managers and panels.

Social listening

Social listening is monitoring public posts for mentions of a brand, competitor or topic, then studying them for trends and sentiment.

SOV

SOV stands for share of voice: the percentage of all advertising, mentions or visibility in a market that belongs to one brand. Full entry: how to measure share of voice.

Spam account

A spam account is a second, private account, usually on Instagram, for casual posts to close friends; it can also mean a bot or scam account. Full entry: spam accounts, finstas and bots.

Sponcon

Sponcon is short for sponsored content: a post a brand has paid a creator to make or share.

Stan

A stan is an overly enthusiastic fan; Dictionary.com dates the word to 2005–10, a blend of stalker and fan influenced by Eminem’s 2000 song “Stan”.

Stitch

Stitch is a TikTok feature that clips a few seconds of another creator’s video to play before your own, usually as a response.

Story

A Story is a full-screen photo or video that disappears after 24 hours unless it’s saved to Highlights.

Sus

Sus is short for suspicious, used for someone or something that seems off.

T

TBT

TBT stands for Throwback Thursday: posting an old photo or memory on a Thursday, tagged #tbt or #throwbackthursday. Full entry: Throwback Thursday and other TBTs.

Tea (spill the tea)

Tea is slang for gossip or inside information, and to spill the tea is to share it.

Thread

A thread is a chain of posts by one person, each replying to the last, used for longer stories on X, Threads or Bluesky.

Threads

Threads is Meta’s text-based social app, built by the Instagram team for short public posts and replies; it launched in July 2023. Full entry: what Threads is in 2026.

TL;DR

TL;DR stands for too long; didn’t read: a one-line summary placed before or after a long post.

U

UGC and UGC creator

UGC stands for user-generated content: posts, photos and videos made by customers, not the brand. A UGC creator is paid by a brand to make content in that style. Full entry: UGC creator rates and usage rights.

UTM parameters

UTM parameters are tags added to the end of a link, such as utm_source=instagram, that tell analytics tools which post sent a visitor.

V

Vanity metrics

Vanity metrics are numbers that look impressive, such as follower counts or likes, but don’t show progress toward a business goal.

Vanity URL

A vanity URL is a short, memorable web address chosen for a brand or name, used as a branded link or a custom profile address. Full entry: vanity URLs and profile addresses.

Verified

A verification badge, usually a check mark, shows a platform has confirmed an account’s identity; on X and Meta’s apps, it can come with a paid plan.

Views

Views count how many times a post, reel or Story was played or shown; Instagram announced them as its primary metric in August 2024, and Meta’s Facebook Page Insights API swapped impressions for views in November 2025.

Viral

A post goes viral when it spreads fast, far beyond its usual audience; no fixed number of views makes something viral.

W

Watch time

Watch time is the total time people spent watching a video; average watch time divides it by the number of views.

Whitelisting

Whitelisting is a creator letting a brand run ads through the creator’s account; Meta calls these partnership ads, and TikTok’s version is Spark Ads.

X

X (formerly Twitter)

X is the social platform formerly called Twitter, renamed in July 2023; what were tweets are now posts, and retweets are reposts.

Put These Terms to Work

Knowing the words is half the job; using them well is the other half. Our 51 free social media tools, from a UTM builder to hashtag and caption generators, need no account. To publish, try Outfeed AI, a chat-first AI social media manager: describe a post in plain English, and it drafts it in your brand voice, previews it per platform and schedules it across nine networks.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a social media glossary?

A social media glossary is an alphabetical list of the terms, acronyms and slang used on social platforms, each with a short definition. This one defines more than 100, and 33 link to a full page.

Which social media terms should beginners learn first?

Start with how posts are seen and measured: feed, algorithm, reach, views, engagement and engagement rate. Then the formats: Stories, Reels, carousels and threads. Slang can wait; you’ll pick it up from comments.

Do social media terms mean the same thing on every platform?

Slang mostly travels; features and metrics don’t. Instagram and Facebook report views where LinkedIn reports impressions, TikTok’s Duet is roughly Instagram’s Remix, and X renamed retweets to reposts in 2023. Check the platform before comparing numbers.

Should brands use slang like ‘no cap’ or ‘slay’ in their posts?

Only when it fits the brand’s voice and the audience already talks that way. Borrowed slang dates quickly and reads as forced, so check a term’s current meaning and use it as your audience does, or skip it.

How often is this glossary updated?

Monthly. Each review adds new terms, corrects entries that platforms or usage have changed and updates the last-reviewed date near the top. The latest was on 25 September 2026.

glossary social media terms slang acronyms metrics