OMG

Short for “oh my God”; an exclamation of surprise or excitement.

What it means

OMG is short for “oh my God.” Cambridge Dictionary says it is “used when someone is surprised or excited about something,” and gives the example “And then, omg, I saw Johnny Depp in Starbucks!” In our observation people also say it out loud, letter by letter.

Dictionary.com describes it as a euphemistic initialism, a way to express surprise or alarm without spelling out the full phrase.

Where it comes from

OMG is older than texting. Dictionary.com says it was first recorded as “O.M.G. (Oh! My! God!)” in 1915–20, in a letter from Admiral Lord John Fisher, a senior British naval commander, to Winston Churchill.

Dictionary.com says the abbreviation was “popularized from its use in digital communications,” such as email, chat and texting.

Who says it now

The translator files OMG under Millennials, many of whom grew up with email, chat and texting. In our observation it is now used by people of all ages, often as a spoken word, and sometimes with a little irony.

Tone

Excited and informal. In our observation, for some religious families the full phrase “oh my God” is disrespectful, and the abbreviation may be too. Others treat it as harmless. Know your audience before using it with grandparents or in church settings.

What adults hear, what kids mean

An older listener may hear “oh-em-gee” said out loud and think it sounds silly or childish. A kid usually means simple surprise or delight, nothing religious at all. If OMG bothers you, it is fair to say so and suggest “oh my gosh” instead.

How to use it

OMG usually starts a sentence or stands alone: “OMG, look at this.” It is often written in capitals, though Cambridge lists it in lowercase as omg. When people say it aloud, they usually spell it out: “oh-em-gee.”

Two examples, written by us:

How to answer it

OMG is an invitation to share the surprise. “What happened?” or “No way!” keeps the conversation going. If it was about bad news, a simple “Oh no, are you okay?” fits better than matching the excitement.

Same idea, other generations

The Slang-o-matic wheel files OMG under Millennials for the idea of unbelievable. These are the words it files under the same idea, by generation. They are related, not always exact translations:

Related slang

Try the slang translatorAll slang by generation

Sources

Meanings and dates on this page come from these dictionaries. Each quote is copied word for word from the linked page.