The 239 Most Popular American Slang Words and Phrases You Need

Learning English vocabulary is one thing, but what about American slang? These conversational words…

Learning English vocabulary is one thing, but what about American slang? These conversational words and phrases are important to know when you live in or visit the United States. Find out how to use and pronounce common American slang like whatever, big yikes, and bless your heart to sound like a native English speaker with American flair.

What is American slang?

Slang is an English word that means “informal vocabulary.” American-English slang is informal vocabulary used in the United States, including in American movies, music, and television. You’ll also hear lots of American slang words in conversations with native English speakers, especially if you’re talking to young people or teenagers. And since the US is a very large place, you’ll find different American slang words in each region.

Some American slang words are in the English dictionary but others aren’t. And English isn’t the only language with slang! Every language has its own informal dialect that language learners need to know in order to understand conversations with locals. 

Common American slang for conversations

Americans use slang in their casual conversations all the time! Common American slang phrases that you’ll hear include:

• cap
  • I don’t believe you, that’s cap!
• my bad
  • I accidentally took your jacket, my bad.
• no worries
  • No worries, we don’t need to rush.
• whatever
  • Whatever, I don’t care what you say.

That’s just the beginning. Check out more common American slang words and phrases that many people use every day.

Slang words for greetings

There are more ways to greet someone in English than the word “Hello!” Use these common English greetings in friendly conversations, and to ask someone how they’re doing.

• hi
  • Hi! It’s nice to see you!
• long time no see
  • Long time no see! How have you been?
• what’s up
  • What’s up? What’s going on in your life?
• yo
  • Yo! Let’s hang out sometime!

More common American greetings that are slang can be found in this chart.

How to describe people with slang

You may know common English nouns to describe a person’s job or appearance, but what about their personality? Find out how to talk about a person in both positive and negative ways using American slang.

• broke
  • I can’t afford that new car. I’m broke.
• cool
  • That guy is so cool and fashionable.
• hot
  • Bethany is so hot! I wish we were dating.
• nerd
  • They called me a nerd because I like to study.

Slang to describe feelings and emotions

Angry, sad, and happy are formal ways to describe emotions in English. Find out how native English speakers describe feeling happy with American slang words like:

• amped
  • I’m amped to go dancing with you tonight!
• down bad
  • I was down bad after Marcy broke up with me.
• feels
  • This sad movie gave me the feels.
• salty
  • He was salty after losing the football game.

You may also hear British slang that has become popular in American English, such as the words knackered and gassed.

American slang for things you like

Are there better ways to say that something is good? Use American-English slang terms to express how much you like something, including:

• cooking
  • John was cooking when he got an A on that test!
• epic
  • That party last night was epic!
• gucci
  • Your hair is gucci today.
• slaps
  • I love this song! The guitar solo slaps!

These terms are typically adjectives, meaning that you can put them before a noun (or after the verb to be). The word banger is a noun that means “something great” (usually a song), and the word slaps is a verb that shows that something is very good.

American slang for things you don’t like

Sometimes you just really don’t like something. Show your preferences with slang words like:

• cheesy
  • Romance movies are so cheesy.
• cringe
  • He was acting really embarrassing and cringe.
• dumb
  • That decision was really dumb.
• wack
  • That party was wack last night. My friends didn’t come.

American slang for celebrations

What do you yell when your favorite sports team wins the game? Use these celebration slang words to show people you’re happy or excited about something that just happened.

• hurray
  • Hurray! We won the game!
• for the win
  • Edgar passed the test! For the win!
• sweet
  • Sweet! I get to go home early!
• yeet
  • Yeet! Mom said we can go to the concert!

Slang words for disappointment

Oh no, your favorite team lost the game! Express your disappointment with American slang words like bummer, too bad, and shook.

• boo
  • Boo. I can’t go on the trip.
• gutted
  • I was gutted when I lost the contest.
• shook
  • Our family was shook at the bad news.
• take the L
  • You lost the game, so just take the L.

Popular American slang phrases

US slang uses many English idioms, which are expressions that aren’t literally true. The only way to learn what these phrases mean is to memorize them. Try out these popular American slang phrases the next time you’re practicing your English in a conversation:

• epic fail
  • My last project was an epic fail, so I had to start over.
• hang out
  • Can you hang out this weekend?
• killing it
  • I got a new job that pays more money. I’m killing it!
• piece of cake
  • This easy class is going to be a piece of cake.

Slang words from all over America

The United States is a big place, and each region has its own slang. That’s one of the reasons English can be hard to learn. Check out the differences between Southern American slang, West Coast slang, East coast slang, and slang from the American Midwest.

Southern American slang

The Southern American region includes Southern states like Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. This area has slang words and phrases that come from many different cultures, including African-American Vernacular English (AAVE). Learn important Southern American slang so you can understand and speak American English in this part of the United States.

• finna
  • I’m finna get mad if you don’t stop talking.
• hankering
  • Yesterday I had a hankering for my grandma’s blueberry pie.
• reckon
  • Do you reckon we’ll get a lot of rain today?
• y’all
  • What do y’all want to do today?

Find more popular Southern American slang to use on a visit to the South.

West Coast American slang

Slang from the West Coast region of the United States also comes from many different sources! You’ll hear influences from Spanish slang and Hawaiian slang, including surfing terms and phrases. The word dude by itself will get you far in any West Coast conversation!

• aloha
  • Aloha! How are you doing?
• brah
  • Brah, let’s go to the beach this weekend.
• dude
  • Dude, you forgot to take out the trash.
• no yeah
  • No yeah, I want to order pizza.

Try out these West Coast slang phrases the next time you’re near the beach.

East Coast American slang

The East Coast is all the way across the United States, and their slang is just as far away! Find out how to use Italian-American slang like gavone and strunz, as well as New English slang like wicked and townie. 

• gavone
  • That rude guy is such a gavone.
• strunz
  • Don’t be a strunz! Speak more politely, please.
• townie
  • The townies love going to the shop down the street.
• wicked
  • That vacation was wicked fun!

Keep in mind that the East Coast covers a lot of states that have their own slang variations. This is just a general list of popular slang terms that originated from or are used more often here.

Midwest American slang

The United States Midwest is a region between the coasts that includes Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Kansas, and several other states. Midwest American slang is similar to Southern American slang, but you’ll only hear some of these words in this area of the US.

• all get out
  • He’s as smart as all get out.
• got the holler tail
  • Don’t talk to Susan. She’s got the holler tail.
• ope
  • Ope! Sorry for bumping into you!
• you betcha
  • Can I make a cake for you? You betcha!

You’ll also hear these additional midwest slang terms in your everyday conversations in this region:

Speak American English from coast to coast

No matter where you live or travel in the United States, you’ll need to know American slang. Once you’ve learned these popular words and phrases in American English, try learning slang from other English-speaking countries like Australia and Canada. When you’re ready to take the next step in your English language journey, find out how Rosetta Stone can help.

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