What Does Slay Mean on TikTok?

If you're new to TikTok, you're probably trying to work out the best way to edit videos, join in with trends, and increase your views. But one thing you also might struggle with is getting your head around TikTok slang. From phrases like 'Roman empire' to 'rizz', joining TikTok requires learning a whole new vocab, and the more of these TikTok slang words you can use in your videos, the more popular will be. As well as buying likes, you'll be racking up more and more likes from your impressed followers!

Learning TikTok vernacular not only makes it easier for you to understand videos and their comments, but it also allows you to use them in your videos, which can help you connect with followers, especially younger ones. If you're running TikTok on behalf of a brand, using TikTok slang shows that your brand has its finger on the pulse, making it more appealing to consumers.

So, without further ado, let's get into the meaning of 'slay' and some other popular TikTok slang.

Slay is a term used both in TikTok and outside of it by mostly millenials and gen Z. Unlike the traditional meaning, in a social media context, to slay something means somebody has done something well, whether that's pulling off an outfit or putting on a great performance. Slaying can be used as a noun 'that was a slay!' or as a verb 'she really slayed that!' and both mean more or less the same thing. Many TikTok users will simply comment 'slay!' on a video.

'Slay' could be used on a video of a popstar performing, a TikToker showing off their outfit, or even a booktoker giving useful insight on a popular novel.

So, there you go, that's the slay meaning TikTok!

To slay original means 'to kill', and 'killing it' can have a double meaning. Just like slay, to kill something can mean to do it really well. Slay was first used in the context of meaning 'to do something well' in the 1970s, when the LGBTQ+ community used the phrase heavily in ballroom culture.

It has since been associated with TV shows like Ru Paul's Drag Race, before becoming common parlance across social media sites, especially like TikTok.

As with any TikTok vocabulary, you can use 'slay' however or whenever you want to as long as it makes sense in a sentence. 'Slay' is a versatile word on social media - a comment that says 'slay' alone points to being supportive and positive vibes. You can use it in your own videos or as part of a comment on another user's video.

What other common TikTok vocabulary should you know before you start uploading to the app? Let's take a look at some of the most popular phrases.

I know what you're thinking - you know what eating means! But on TikTok, this commonplace word can mean something very different. Similarly to slay, 'to eat' means to do something well, and it commonly refers to putting together a look. You might comment on a Get Ready With Me video telling the poster that their outfit 'ate'. You might also see comments such as 'you ate with that one' on a TikTok video of a content creator giving their hot take or opinion.

Delulu on TikTok means delusional, but it's not used in a derogatory way. Users use delulu as a tongue-in-cheek way to describe themselves when they're having ideas or aspirations for unrealistic things. For example, a TikTok user might call themselves delulu for believing they could have a chance to date their favourite celebrity or star in a Broadway show. This particular slang term originated from the K-pop community in 2014 and has been popular on TikTok since.

When you gatekeep something, it means you limit the amount of information other people can have about it. On TikTok, this often refers to obscuring the name of a restaurant or holiday destination, typically because you don't want it to become too busy and want to keep it as a hidden gem.

When selling products, many creators will make content about a certain product saying they don't want to 'gatekeep' it anymore because the product is so good it deserves to be shared.

If you've used TikTok before, you've probably heard somebody refer to something as their 'Roman Empire'. Here's what the phrase means and where it originated.

If you call something your 'Roman empire', it means it's something you think about a lot. This phrase originated from a TikTok trend in 2023 that started when women asked the men in their lives how often they thought about the Roman empire. Much to the womens' surprise, the men in their lives would often respond saying they thought about the Roman empire weekly, or even daily.

Women would film these interactions, asking their unsuspecting husbands, boyfriends, friends, and brothers about how often they thought about the Roman Empire and uploading it to TikTok. This soon become a huge trend over TikTok that spawned the term 'Roman Empire'.

By buying followers who will like and view your content, you too can create viral videos just like the one that started the Roman Empire trend. This trend was so popular, that calling something you think about a lot your 'Roman empire' has become commonplace in everyday speech outside of TikTok. Work on producing high-quality content that includes TikTok-specific vocab and you'll soon go viral. Need help making your videos unforgettable? Our handy guides can help with that.