The Ultimate Reddit Dictionary: Every Term, Acronym, and Inside Joke Explained

2 days ago
18 min read

TL;DR

Reddit operates on a unique dialect of technical jargon (Karma, Flair, API), community acronyms (ELI5, AITA, TIL), and "fringe" cultural inside jokes (Banana for Scale, The Hug of Death). Understanding these terms is the difference between being a "Lurker" and becoming a respected member of the "Hivemind." Introduction

Stepping into Reddit for the first time can feel like visiting a foreign country where you technically speak the language, but have no idea what anyone is actually saying. Between the aggressive use of acronyms like IIRC and OOTL, and the strange obsession with "Cakedays" and "Bernie Sanders," the learning curve is notoriously steep. Whether you are a brand-new user trying to avoid a Shadow Ban or a digital marketer trying to understand the Hivemind, this guide serves as your universal translator. We have broken down the platform’s vocabulary into technical foundations, social shorthand, and the deep-fringe lore that has defined Reddit’s culture for over two decades. Explore the Glossary

Scroll down to see the full list of 60+ terms categorized by technical use, community slang, and fringe culture.

Content - Reddit Terminology

AITA (Am I The Asshole?)

Admin

AMA (Ask Me Anything)

API (Application Programming Interface)

Approved User

Auto-Moderator Config

Ban Evasion

Banhammer

Banana for Scale

Brigading

Cakeday

Chat

CMV (Change My View)

Collapsed Comment

Copypasta

Cross-post (x-post)

DAE (Does Anyone Else)

Default Subreddits

Direct Message (DM) / Private Message (PM)

Doggo-Speak

Edit: A Word

Edit for Visibility

ELI5 (Explain Like I'm Five)

ETA (Edited To Add)

Flair

FTFY (Fixed That For You)

GallowBoob

Hedgehogging

Hivemind

IIRC (If I Recall Correctly)

ITT (In This Thread)

Karma

Karma Whore

Lurker

Markdown

Subreddit

A subreddit is a dedicated community within the Reddit platform focused on a specific topic, ranging from broad interests like r/worldnews to niche hobbies like r/mechanicalkeyboards. Each subreddit operates as an independent forum with its own unique set of rules, culture, and volunteer moderators.

OP (Original Poster)

OP refers to the specific user who created the initial post or "thread" currently being viewed. In the comments section, people often address the "OP" directly to ask follow-up questions or clarify the intent of the original submission.

Karma

Karma is a numerical score that represents a user’s standing and contribution level based on the upvotes and downvotes their content receives. While it has no monetary value, many subreddits require users to have a minimum amount of "Post Karma" or "Comment Karma" before they are allowed to participate.

TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)

This acronym is used to provide a concise summary of a very long post for users who don't want to read the entire text. It is a social courtesy on Reddit, typically placed at the bottom of a story to capture the "meat" of the narrative in one or two sentences.

TIL (Today I Learned)

TIL is a prefix used when a user shares a fact or piece of information they recently discovered and found interesting. It is also the name of one of Reddit's largest subreddits, where users post links to Wikipedia or news articles to educate the community.

Cakeday

A "Cakeday" is the annual anniversary of the day a user created their Reddit account, effectively acting as a "Reddit Birthday." During this 24-hour period, a small cake icon appears next to the user's name, and it is common for others to reply with "Happy Cakeday!"

Flair

Flair consists of small tags that appear next to a username or a post title to provide extra context or categorization. In some subs, user flair might show a person's expertise (like "Biologist"), while post flair helps users filter content by category (like "Breaking News" or "Rumor").

Sidebar

The sidebar is the informational panel located on the right side of a subreddit (or in the "About" tab on mobile) that lists the community's rules and resources. It is essential reading for new members, as it often contains "Frequently Asked Questions" and links to related subreddits.

AMA (Ask Me Anything)

An AMA is an interactive Q&A session where a person of interest—ranging from celebrities and scientists to people with unique life experiences—answers questions from the community in real-time. These threads are highly popular and have hosted everyone from local firefighters to former presidents.

Shadow Ban

A shadow ban is a punitive measure where a user's account is restricted so that they can still post and comment, but their content is invisible to everyone else. It was originally designed to trick spambots into thinking they were still active without allowing them to clutter the site.

Mod (Moderator)

Moderators, or "mods," are volunteer users who manage specific subreddits by enforcing rules, removing spam, and banning disruptive users. They are not paid employees of Reddit; they are community members who give their time to keep their favorite forums organized and safe.

Upvote/Downvote

These are the primary currency of Reddit, allowing users to signal whether a post or comment contributes positively to the conversation. Upvotes increase the visibility of content, pushing it to the "Front Page," while downvotes hide low-quality or irrelevant content.

Shadow Edit

A shadow edit (also known as a "ninja edit") occurs when a user modifies their post within three minutes of submitting it. If the edit happens within this short window, the "edited" asterisk will not appear next to the timestamp, making the change invisible to others.

Cross-post (x-post)

A cross-post is the act of sharing a post from one subreddit into another relevant community to reach a wider or more specific audience. Reddit has a built-in feature for this that links back to the original thread, giving credit to the first uploader.

Brigading

Brigading is a prohibited behavior where a group of users from one subreddit coordinates an "attack" on another subreddit to manipulate votes or harass its members. This is considered a violation of Reddit’s site-wide Content Policy and can result in entire communities being banned.

Default Subreddits

In the past, default subreddits were a set of popular communities (like r/funny or r/pics) that every new user was automatically subscribed to upon joining. While the "default" system has changed, the term is still used to describe the massive, high-traffic communities that represent the "core" of the site.

Lurker

A lurker is a user who consumes content—reading posts and viewing images—but rarely, if ever, votes, comments, or submits their own posts. Lurkers make up the vast majority of Reddit’s traffic, often referred to as the "silent majority."

Circlejerk

This term describes a community or thread where everyone expresses the same opinion and shuts down any dissenting views, creating a repetitive echo chamber. It also refers to a specific genre of parody subreddits that mock the predictable and repetitive nature of mainstream Reddit trends.

Admin

Admins are the actual paid employees of Reddit Inc. who work on the site's code, legal issues, and site-wide policy enforcement. You can identify them by a red "Admin" tag or a distinct Snoo (the Reddit mascot) icon next to their username.

Technical & Administrative Terms

Automod:

A programmable bot used by moderators to automatically filter spam or flag specific keywords.

Modmail:

A private messaging system used to communicate directly with a subreddit's moderation team.

Orangered:

The orange-red color of the notification envelope when you have a new message.

NP (No Participation):

A link prefix (np.reddit.com) used to discourage users from voting or commenting when following a link from another sub.

Vault:

The digital wallet used for Reddit's blockchain-based features like "Collectible Avatars."

Acronyms & Community Slang

ELI5 (Explain Like I'm Five)

ELI5 is a request for a simplified explanation of a complex, technical, or academic topic so that a layperson can easily understand it. While not literally meant for a five-year-old, it signals to the community that the user wants the "basics" without any intimidating jargon.

FTFY (Fixed That For You)

FTFY is a phrase used when one user quotes another but modifies a specific word or sentence to change the meaning, often for comedic or sarcastic effect. It can be used for genuine corrections, but on Reddit, it is most frequently used to "correct" someone's opinion to match the replier's own view.

IIRC (If I Recall Correctly)

This is a standard disclaimer used when a Redditor is providing information, a fact, or a story from memory but isn't 100% certain of the details. It helps protect the user from being "downvoted" for spreading misinformation if they happen to get a minor detail wrong.

AITA (Am I The Asshole?)

AITA is the shorthand for one of Reddit’s most famous subreddits where users describe a personal conflict and ask the community to judge who was in the wrong. The community responds with specific acronyms like YTA (You’re The Asshole) or NTA (Not The Asshole) to deliver their final verdict.

NSFW/NSFL (Not Safe For Work / Life)

NSFW is a mandatory tag for content containing nudity or adult themes that would be inappropriate to view in a professional or public setting. NSFL (Not Safe For Life) is a more extreme "fringe" warning used for gore, disturbing imagery, or high-intensity content that may be psychologically distressing.

ETA (Edited To Add)

Unlike its common meaning of "Estimated Time of Arrival," on Reddit, ETA stands for "Edited To Add." It is used at the bottom of a post to show that the user has added new information or responded to common questions after the original post was already published.

DAE (Does Anyone Else)

DAE is a common way to start a post when a user wants to find out if a specific habit, thought, or experience is shared by others. It serves as a "sanity check" or a way to build community consensus around relatable, everyday occurrences that might feel unique to the individual.

Fringe & "Niche" Terms

The Reddit Switcharoo

The "Old Reddit Switcharoo" is a massive, multi-year chain of links where a user intentionally misidentifies the subject of a photo to create a joke. For example, if someone posts a photo with a famous actor, a commenter might say, "Wow, I can't believe you met that guy!" referring to the random person in the background, followed by a link that leads the reader down a "rabbit hole" of thousands of previous similar jokes.

Banhammer

The "Banhammer" is a metaphorical term used to describe the act of a moderator or administrator permanently banning a user from a subreddit or the entire platform. It is often invoked in a humorous or dramatic way to signal that a user has crossed a line and is about to be "hit" with a sudden and final removal from the community.

Witch Hunt

A "Witch Hunt" refers to a coordinated effort by Redditors to track down, identify, or harass an individual based on perceived wrongdoing or internet "sleuthing." Because these events often lead to "doxing" (releasing private information), Reddit has strict site-wide rules against them to prevent real-world harm to innocent people.

Hedgehogging

Hedgehogging is a niche term for when a user decides to leave Reddit and uses a script or manual effort to delete every single comment and post they have ever made. By "scrubbing" their digital footprint, they ensure that their data cannot be archived or read by others after they have deactivated their account.

Neckbeard

"Neckbeard" is a derogatory trope used to describe a specific archetype of Redditor characterized by being socially awkward, overly pedantic, and aggressively argumentative. The term refers to the literal unkempt facial hair associated with the stereotype and is often used to mock users who act superior or "gatekeep" hobbies like gaming or anime.

Doggo-Speak

Doggo-Speak (also known as "Bork" or "Le Doge") is a cutesy, intentional misspelling of words used primarily in animal-themed subreddits to describe pet behavior. Phrases like "doing me a frighten" or "heckin' chonker" are part of this community dialect, which is designed to make the content feel wholesome and lighthearted.

Technical & Interface Terms

ModQueue

The ModQueue is a specialized, private dashboard accessible only to a subreddit's moderators, serving as a "to-do list" for community management. It aggregates every post or comment that has been flagged by Automod or reported by users, allowing moderators to

quickly approve, remove, or spam-filter content to keep the sub clean.

User Agent

A User Agent is a technical string of text sent by your browser or app that identifies your operating system and software version to Reddit's servers. It is a common topic in technical subreddits because developers use this information to troubleshoot why certain site features might be "buggy" or failing to render correctly on specific devices.

Reddit Enhancement Suite (RES)

RES is a legendary third-party browser extension that drastically transforms the "Old Reddit" desktop experience by adding power-user features. It includes highly sought-after tools like "Never Ending Reddit" (infinite scrolling), a dashboard for switching between multiple accounts, and the ability to "tag" specific users with private notes.

Markdown

Markdown is the simple, text-based formatting language that Reddit uses to allow users to style their posts without needing to know HTML. By using specific characters—like asterisks for bold or brackets for [links]—users can create structured, professional-looking posts and tables that remain readable even in "plain text" mode.

Multi-Reddit (Custom Feeds)

A Multi-Reddit, now officially called a "Custom Feed," allows a user to bundle multiple independent subreddits into one consolidated stream. This is particularly useful for organizing interests, such as creating a "Gaming" multi that combines r/PS5, r/Xbox, and r/PCMasterRace into a single, scrollable page.

Wiki

A subreddit Wiki is a collaborative, long-form document section maintained by moderators to store permanent information that would otherwise get lost in a fast-moving feed. It is typically used for housing complex rulebooks, "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQs), and beginner guides for the community's specific topic.

RSS Feed

Reddit maintains a "hidden" RSS functionality that allows users to follow any subreddit, user, or search query through external news aggregator apps. By simply adding .rss to the end of almost any Reddit URL, users can stay updated on new posts without ever having to open the Reddit website or app.

Technical & Interface Terms

It looks like we've hit a groove with these technical terms! Here are the definitions and explanations for this set of backend tools and power-user features:

ModQueue

User Agent

Reddit Enhancement Suite (RES)

Markdown

Multi-Reddit (Custom Feeds)

Wiki

RSS Feed

Community-Specific Acronyms

Here are the definitions and explanations for this set of popular community-driven acronyms and post formats:

OOTL (Out of the Loop)

OOTL is used when a user doesn't understand a trending meme, a piece of news, or a specific subreddit drama and needs a summary to catch up. It is most famously associated with the r/OutOfTheLoop subreddit, where helpful users provide unbiased context for complex or fast-moving internet events.

CMV (Change My View)

CMV is the standard prefix for posts where a user presents a strong, reasoned opinion but explicitly invites others to provide counter-arguments to change their mind. This format is designed to foster civil discourse and is the core mechanic of the r/ChangeMyView subreddit, which awards "Deltas" to users who successfully change the original poster's perspective.

YSK (You Should Know)

YSK is a prefix used for sharing valuable, practical information, life hacks, or public service announcements that are of general interest to the community. These posts are meant to be educational and helpful, often covering topics like consumer rights, computer shortcuts, or obscure safety tips.

ITT (In This Thread)

ITT is used to sarcastically or humorously summarize the prevailing sentiment of the comments section within a specific post. For example, a user might write "ITT: People who only read the headline" to call out the fact that the commenters seem to be ignoring the actual content of the linked article.

TIFU (Today I F*ed Up)**

TIFU is the mandatory starting phrase for stories where a user recounts a significant, usually embarrassing, mistake they made. While the acronym stands for "Today," it is a common Reddit trope for the story to have actually happened years ago, leading to the frequent disclaimer: "This actually happened back in 2012..."

WIBTA (Would I Be The Asshole?)

WIBTA is a proactive variation of the "Am I The Asshole" format, used when a user is considering a specific course of action and wants a moral judgment before they do it. It allows the community to act as a sounding board, helping the user decide if their planned behavior is reasonable or if it would be considered socially unacceptable.

Fringe & Cultural Terms

Copypasta

A copypasta is a block of text that gets repeatedly copied and pasted across various threads, evolving into an "inside joke" or meme. These are often overly dramatic, aggressive, or nonsensical rants (like the famous "Navy Seal" pasta) that users post to mock a certain type of behavior or simply to cause chaotic humor in the comments.

Reddit Gold / Gilding

"Gilding" is the act of a user spending real money to give a digital award to a post or comment they find exceptionally high-quality. While Reddit has cycled through various systems like "Coins" and "Gold," the core concept remains a way for the community to highlight and reward content while financially supporting the platform’s servers.

Novelty Account

A novelty account is a Reddit profile dedicated to a singular, specific gimmick or "bit" rather than standard participation. Famous examples include accounts that only reply with hand-drawn sketches of comments, accounts that turn every thread into a poem, or bots that "correct" specific grammar mistakes in a humorous way.

The Reddit "Hug of Death"

The "Hug of Death" occurs when a link to a small or independent website reaches the front page of Reddit, causing a massive, simultaneous surge of thousands of visitors. This unintentional "Distributed Denial of Service" (DDoS) often crashes the target website’s servers because they are not equipped to handle that level of sudden traffic.

Banana for Scale

"Banana for Scale" is a quintessential Reddit joke where users include a physical banana in a photograph to provide a universal reference for the size of an object. It began as a way to mock inconsistent measurements in photos and has since become a mandatory "requirement" for many users when posting pictures of strange or large items.

Edit for Visibility

This phrase is added to the top of a post once it has gained significant traction or reached the front page. Users typically "edit for visibility" to add a crucial update to a story, provide a link to a charity, or correct a major misunderstanding that the thousands of new readers need to see immediately.

Sauce

"Sauce" is a deliberate, slang misspelling of the word "source," used primarily when a user is asking for the original link to a video, image, or news story. In certain subreddits, failing to provide the "sauce" for a piece of content is considered a major breach of etiquette and can result in the post being ignored or removed.

Technical & Administrative (The "Under the Hood" stuff)

This final set covers the mechanics of communication, site navigation, and some of the more nuanced social behaviors found deep within Reddit's threads.

Direct Message (DM) / Private Message (PM)

A DM or PM is a private, one-on-one communication method that allows users to talk outside of public comment sections. Unlike public threads, these messages are only visible to the sender and recipient, making them the standard way to exchange personal information or resolve private disputes.

API (Application Programming Interface)

The API is the technical bridge that allows external software to interact with Reddit’s data, which famously powered popular third-party apps like Apollo and RIF (Reddit is Fun). In 2023, changes to API pricing became a massive site-wide controversy, leading to many beloved apps shutting down and sparking widespread subreddit "blackouts" in protest.

Chat

Reddit Chat is a real-time instant messaging feature designed to feel more like modern apps like WhatsApp or Discord compared to the older, email-style PM system. It allows for group chats and persistent message histories, though many long-time users still prefer the classic messaging system for its simplicity.

Auto-Moderator Config

The Auto-Moderator Config is the specific set of rules, written in YAML code, that tells the site's "Automod" bot how to manage a subreddit. Moderators use this to automatically remove posts containing banned words, filter out spam from new accounts, or leave a "stickied" comment on every new submission.

Ban Evasion

Ban evasion occurs when a user whose account has been banned from a subreddit creates a new account to bypass that restriction and continue posting. This is a violation of Reddit’s site-wide Content Policy and can result in all associated accounts being permanently suspended or the user's IP address being flagged.

Approved User

An Approved User is a specific status granted by moderators that gives a person permission to post in a subreddit that has been set to "Restricted" mode. This is often used in private communities or during "sub lockdowns" to ensure that only trusted members can contribute content.

Quarantined

"Quarantined" is a restrictive status applied by Reddit Admins to communities that promote highly offensive or potentially harmful content that doesn't quite cross the line into a total ban. Users must explicitly click through a warning to view a quarantined sub, and these communities are removed from search results and the "Popular" feed.

Sort by (Hot/New/Top/Controversial)

These are the algorithmic filters users use to organize their feeds; "Hot" balances upvotes and time, "New" shows the latest posts, and "Top" shows the most-upvoted content of all time. "Controversial" is a unique filter that highlights posts with a near-equal ratio of upvotes and downvotes, often indicating a polarizing topic.

Permalink

A permalink is a unique URL that points directly to one specific comment within a massive thread, rather than the original post itself. This is incredibly useful for sharing a specific joke, answer, or "sauce" with people outside of the thread without making them scroll through hundreds of other replies.

Threaded Comments

Reddit uses a "threaded" or "nested" comment structure where replies are visually indented to the right to show the flow of conversation. This allows multiple different discussions to happen simultaneously under the same post without the replies becoming a confusing, chronological mess.

Collapsed Comment

A collapsed comment is one that has been hidden from view, either because the user manually clicked to minimize it or because it received a high volume of downvotes. In many subreddits, comments that drop below a certain "score" (usually -5) are automatically collapsed to discourage "trolling" or low-quality content.

Parent/Child Comment

In the hierarchy of a Reddit thread, the "Parent" is the comment being replied to, while the "Child" is the reply nested directly underneath it. Understanding this relationship is key to following long-form debates or joke chains where the context relies entirely on the parent comment's text.

Karma Whore

"Karma Whore" is a derogatory slang term for a user who prioritizes gaining high karma scores over contributing meaningful content. These users often engage in "reposting" (sharing popular old content as if it were new) or "pandering" to the hivemind to ensure their posts get the maximum number of upvotes.

GallowBoob

GallowBoob was one of Reddit's most famous and polarizing users, known for amassing millions of karma points through high-frequency posting and professional-level content curation. His name became synonymous with the "Karma Whore" trope and sparked many "meta" debates about how power-users influence what reaches the front page.

Edit: A Word

This is a common "social etiquette" note added to the bottom of a comment when a user has made a minor correction, such as fixing a typo or adding a missing word. Because Reddit shows an asterisk next to edited comments, adding "Edit: A Word" assures other readers that the user didn't fundamentally change their argument or "dirty delete" a controversial statement.

User Simulator

The User Simulator is a popular Reddit bot that, when "summoned" by a user, scrapes their entire post history to generate a new, nonsensical comment based on their specific writing style and vocabulary. It is a favorite tool for self-parody and seeing how predictable one's own Reddit habits have become.

Hivemind

The "Hivemind" refers to the tendency for Reddit communities to rapidly settle on a single "correct" opinion, after which any dissenting view is immediately met with mass downvotes. It is often criticized for creating echo chambers where nuance is lost in favor of the most popular or "loudest" viewpoint.

Meta-Post

A meta-post is a submission that is about the subreddit itself rather than the topic the subreddit is supposed to cover. For example, if a user in r/movies posts a thread complaining that the moderators are being too strict with the rules, that is considered a "meta" discussion.

Relevant Username

A "Relevant Username" occurs when a user's chosen handle perfectly matches the specific context of the thread they are participating in. For instance, if someone named "The_Oatmeal_Expert" happens to be commenting on a post about breakfast recipes, their contribution is noted for its coincidental relevance.

Username Checks Out

"Username Checks Out" is the standard, shorthand reply given to someone who has a "Relevant Username." It is a way for the community to acknowledge the coincidence and is often one of the most upvoted comments in a thread due to its simplicity and the "meta" humor of the situation.

TL;DR

Content - Reddit Terminology

Subreddit

OP (Original Poster)

Karma

TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)

TIL (Today I Learned)

Cakeday

Flair

Sidebar

AMA (Ask Me Anything)

Shadow Ban

Mod (Moderator)

Upvote/Downvote

Shadow Edit

Cross-post (x-post)

Meta

Brigading

Default Subreddits

Lurker

Circlejerk

Admin

Technical & Administrative Terms

Automod:

Modmail:

Orangered:

NP (No Participation):

Vault:

Acronyms & Community Slang

ELI5 (Explain Like I'm Five)

FTFY (Fixed That For You)

IIRC (If I Recall Correctly)

AITA (Am I The Asshole?)

NSFW/NSFL (Not Safe For Work / Life)

ETA (Edited To Add)

DAE (Does Anyone Else)

Fringe & "Niche" Terms

The Reddit Switcharoo

Banhammer

Witch Hunt

Hedgehogging

Neckbeard

Doggo-Speak

Technical & Interface Terms

ModQueue

User Agent

Reddit Enhancement Suite (RES)

Markdown

Multi-Reddit (Custom Feeds)

Wiki

RSS Feed

Technical & Interface Terms

ModQueue

User Agent

Reddit Enhancement Suite (RES)

Markdown

Multi-Reddit (Custom Feeds)

Wiki

RSS Feed

Community-Specific Acronyms

OOTL (Out of the Loop)

CMV (Change My View)

YSK (You Should Know)

ITT (In This Thread)

TIFU (Today I F***ed Up)

WIBTA (Would I Be The Asshole?)

Fringe & Cultural Terms

Copypasta

Reddit Gold / Gilding

Novelty Account

The Reddit "Hug of Death"

Banana for Scale

Edit for Visibility

Sauce

Technical & Administrative (The "Under the Hood" stuff)

Direct Message (DM) / Private Message (PM)

API (Application Programming Interface)

Chat

Auto-Moderator Config

Ban Evasion

TIFU (Today I F*ed Up)**

EC2A 4NE
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