- Lol is an acronym of laugh out loud. It can be used as an interjection and a verb.
- Lol is one of the most common slang terms in electronic communications.
- Even though it means laugh out loud, lol is mostly used to indicate smiling or slight amusement.
Even though it’s lost some of its shine (and meaning) over the years, lol is still a very common slang term that has transcended the boundaries of electronic communication.
The meaning of lol
Lol stands for laugh out loud or laughing out loud. The acronym came about during the 1980s, and by 1993 it had an established use in early forms of electronic communication.
Lol has lost some of its edge over the years. When people use it today, hardly anyone expects them to be actually laughing out loud. It’s more likely to indicate a smile or slight amusement.
How to use lol
Lol can be used as an interjection and a verb.
Some people like to write lol in all caps and some don’t. Using all caps is a way to emphasize what you’re writing, so LOL might indicate that you really are laughing out loud. Lol is not a word you’d want to use in formal communication, and there are no hard rules about how to capitalize it in informal communication.
Lol is also used in spoken language, even though saying lol creates a contradictory situation where you’re saying that you’re laughing out loud instead of actually laughing out loud.
