This Is the Most (and Least) Popular Slang for Each Generation

Much of the time, language evolves in subtle ways. New words and phrases enter our collective vocabulary through pop culture and current events—like “wardrobe malfunction” or “masking.”

At the same time, terms that have been around for decades or longer can fall out of regular use because they are disrespectful of a particular culture, for example, or describe technology no longer in use (e.g. mimeograph and ditto).

Slang, however, moves at a much faster pace. These casual words and phrases are constantly falling in and out of fashion, with each generation leaving its mark.

Using data from Google Trends and surveying more than 1,000 people in the U.S. of varying ages, the team at Preply learned how Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials, and members of Gen Z used and responded to slang. Here’s what they found.

The most popular slang words for each generation

According to the Preply survey, these are the slang words that each generation uses the most:

Baby Boomers

• Bummer
• Mellow
• Wannabe

Gen X

• Chill
• Lame
• Bummer

Millennials

• OMG
• Chill
• Lame

Gen Z

• Selfie
• OMG
• Ghost

Meanwhile, these are the slang terms each generation would most like to see come back in style:

Baby Boomers

• Far out
• Peace out
• Bummer

Gen X

• Right on
• Groovy
• Epic

Millennials

• Cool cat
• Cowabunga
• Talk to the hand

Gen Z

• YOLO
• Rad
• Wazzup

And these are the slang words they’d most like to adopt into their own vocabulary, along with their where they learn most of these terms:

Baby Boomers

• Glow up
• POV
• Fire

Top source for learning new slang: Younger family members

Gen X

• Sksksk
• CEO of
• POV

Top source for learning new slang: Younger family members

Millennials

• Sksksk
• CEO of
• Guap

Top source for learning new slang: YouTube

Gen Z

• Sheesh
• Guap
• Clap back

Top source for learning new slang: TikTok

The least popular slang words for each generation

According to the Preply survey, these are the slang words each generation would most like to see to go out of style:

Baby Boomers

• Woke
• Gucci
• Sheesh

Gen X

• Thirsty
• Clap back
• Slay

Millennials

• Slay
• Sus
• Clout

Gen Z

• Savage
• Sksksk
• POV

You can read the full survey report here.