From ghosting to rizz, modern dating has a language of its own. This dating dictionary explains the dating terms, Gen Z slang, and online dating lingo you will run into today, in plain English and grounded in relationship research. Search a term or browse the A to Z glossary below.
A
Affordating
Affordating is choosing dates and partners around what your budget can realistically handle.
Algo Match
An algo match is a partner an app’s algorithm surfaces for you based on your data and behavior.
Asexual
Asexual describes someone who experiences little or no sexual attraction to other people, regardless of gender.
Attachment Bomb
An attachment bomb is flooding a new partner with intense closeness very fast, often overwhelming them.
B
Bad Pancake
Bad Pancake is the first person you date after a breakup, treated as a low-stakes practice run rather than a serious match.
Bae
Bae is a term of endearment for a romantic partner, often said to stand for Before Anyone Else.
Beige Flag
A beige flag is a quirky or boring habit that is neither a dealbreaker nor a real warning sign.
Benching
Benching is keeping someone interested with occasional attention while you keep looking for better options, never fully committing.
Big Dick Energy
Big Dick Energy, or BDE, is the calm, quietly confident vibe a person gives off without arrogance or needing to prove anything.
Bisexual
Bisexual describes a person who is attracted to more than one gender, often to both men and women.
Blizzard Buddy
A Blizzard Buddy is someone you pair up with for company and warmth during winter storms or cold months, without long-term intent.
Breadcrumbing
Breadcrumbing is leading someone on with occasional flirty messages or attention without any intention of committing to a real relationship.
C
Catch and Release
Catch and Release is when someone pursues a person eagerly, then loses interest as soon as that person commits or is won over.
Catch Feels
To catch feels is to develop romantic feelings for someone, often unexpectedly or sooner than planned.
Catfishing
Catfishing is creating a fake online identity, often with someone else’s photos, to trick a person into a relationship.
Cherry Bombing
Cherry bombing is dropping intense, dramatic gestures or revelations early to fast-track a connection.
Cis / Cisgender
Cisgender, or cis, describes a person whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.
Cloaking
Cloaking is standing someone up and then blocking them everywhere so they cannot reach you.
Conscious Uncoupling
Conscious uncoupling is ending a relationship deliberately and respectfully, with care for both people.
Cookie Jarring
Cookie jarring is keeping someone as a backup option while you pursue someone else you prefer.
Cuffing Season
Cuffing season is the cold weather stretch from fall to winter when single people seek a steady partner to stay in and stay warm with.
Curving
Curving is rejecting someone gently and indirectly, dodging their interest with vague responses instead of clearly saying no.
Cushioning
Cushioning is staying in touch with other romantic prospects while in a relationship, to soften the blow if it ends.
D
D-AI-ting
D-AI-ting is using AI tools to help with dating, from writing messages to coaching your approach.
Date of View
Date of view is filming or sharing a date as content, framing the outing for an online audience.
Daterview
A Daterview is a first date that feels more like a job interview, with rapid-fire questions and little genuine connection.
Deep-Like
A Deep-like is liking a very old photo or post far down someone’s profile, signaling that you have been scrolling through their history.
Delulu
Delulu is slang for delusional, used playfully to describe unrealistic or wishful thinking, especially about a crush or relationship.
Delusionship
A delusionship is a one-sided bond you imagine is more serious than the other person ever signaled.
Demisexual
Demisexual describes a person who only feels sexual attraction after forming a strong emotional bond with someone.
Dicksand
Dicksand is when someone gets so absorbed in a new sexual or romantic partner that they disappear from friends and normal life.
DINK
DINK stands for Dual Income, No Kids, a couple who both earn money and choose not to have children.
DM Slide
A DM slide is sending a private direct message on social media to someone you are interested in, usually to start flirting.
Down Bad
Down bad is slang for being desperate, lovesick, or willing to do almost anything for someone you are attracted to.
Dry Dating
Dry dating is going on dates without alcohol, meeting over coffee or activities instead of drinks.
Dry-Texting
Dry texting is replying with short, flat, low-effort messages that stall a conversation.
DTR
DTR stands for define the relationship, the conversation where two people decide what they are to each other.
E
Eco-Dumping
Eco-dumping is breaking up with someone by blaming vague external pressures rather than honest reasons.
Emotional Labor
Emotional labor is the unseen work of managing feelings, needs, and relationship upkeep, often unequally shared.
Enmeshment
Enmeshment is a relationship where personal boundaries blur, so two people’s emotions, needs, and identities become overly merged.
Exclusivity
Exclusivity is the agreement to date only each other and stop seeing or pursuing other people.
Eyecontactship
An eyecontactship is an unspoken connection with someone built only on repeated, charged eye contact.
F
Fexting
Fexting is fighting or arguing with a partner over text instead of in person.
Fifty/Fifty
Fifty/fifty is splitting dating costs and effort evenly so neither partner carries more than the other.
Firedooring
Firedooring is being in a one-sided relationship where the other person controls all access, reaching out only when it suits them.
Flashpanning
Flashpanning is rushing into intense romance, then losing interest just as fast and disappearing.
Flirtationship
A flirtationship is an ongoing flirty bond with someone that never becomes an actual relationship.
Flowmance
A romance that develops easily and naturally, where dating feels relaxed rather than forced.
FLR (Female-Led Relationship)
A relationship in which the woman holds primary authority over major decisions by mutual agreement.
Freak Matching
Openly trading kinks or unusual preferences early on to confirm sexual compatibility before getting serious.
Freckling
Freckling is a summer-only fling, a warm weather romance that appears with the sun and fades when the season ends.
Friend Zone
A situation where one person wants romance but the other sees the relationship as friendship only.
Friends with Benefits
Friends with Benefits is an arrangement where two friends have a sexual relationship without being romantic partners or committing to each other.
Future-Proofing
Testing early on whether someone fits your long-term goals before letting yourself get attached.
G
Gaslighting
Gaslighting is a form of emotional manipulation where someone makes you doubt your own memory, perception, or sanity.
Gay
Gay describes a person who is attracted to people of the same gender, and is used most often for men attracted to men.
Genderfluid
Genderfluid describes a person whose gender identity shifts over time rather than staying fixed.
GGG
GGG stands for good, giving, and game, a guideline for being a generous, open-minded sexual partner.
Ghosting
Ghosting is when someone ends a relationship by suddenly cutting off all contact and ignoring the other person’s attempts to reach them.
Glow Up
A glow up is a dramatic positive transformation in someone’s appearance, confidence, or life, often after a breakup or a low period.
Gray Rocking
Becoming deliberately boring and unresponsive to discourage a manipulative or draining person from engaging.
Green Flag
A behavior or trait that signals someone is likely to be a healthy, trustworthy partner.
Groundhog Dating
Repeatedly dating the same type of person and reliving the same relationship problems each time.
H
Half-Apping It
Half-apping it is using dating apps with minimal effort, swiping idly without really trying to make a connection.
Half-Night Stand
A Half-Night Stand is a casual hookup where one person leaves soon after sex rather than staying the night.
Hall Pass
A Hall Pass is permission from your partner to have a one-time fling with someone else, often a named celebrity, without it counting as cheating.
Hard Launch
Publicly announcing a relationship in a clear, unmistakable way, often by posting your partner online.
Hardballing
Stating your relationship goals and standards bluntly and early so dates know exactly what you want.
Haunting
Haunting is when someone from your past quietly watches your social media, liking or viewing posts, without actually reaching out.
I
Ick
A sudden feeling of repulsion toward someone you were attracted to, triggered by a small turn-off.
ILY
A texting shorthand for “I love you,” used as a casual or quick way to express affection.
Imaginationship
A relationship that exists mostly in your head, built around someone you have little real connection with.
Incel
Incel, short for involuntary celibate, refers to someone, usually a man, who wants a relationship but cannot find one and often blames others for it.
Insta-Stalking
Quietly scrolling deep into someone’s Instagram to learn about a crush, date, or ex.
Instaficial
Instaficial describes a relationship that looks perfect on social media but is shallow or troubled in real life.
Intentional Dating
Dating with a clear purpose, focusing on compatibility and shared goals rather than casual drifting.
K
Kittenfishing
Kittenfishing is making yourself look better online with heavily edited photos or exaggerated details, without fully faking your identity.
L
LGBTQ
LGBTQ is an umbrella acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning identities.
Lockering
Lockering is moving fast to lock someone into a committed, exclusive relationship before they have a chance to explore other options.
Longdez-vous
A long-distance rendezvous, when partners in different places travel to meet up for a planned visit.
Loud-Looking
Openly broadcasting that you are single and seeking a partner instead of searching quietly.
Love Bombing
Love bombing is overwhelming someone with intense affection, attention, and gifts early on to gain influence or control over them.
Love Haze
The early-romance state where strong feelings cloud your judgment about a new partner.
M
Main Character Era
A phase of putting yourself first and living as the lead in your own story, including in dating.
Matrimania
Matrimania is the cultural obsession with weddings and marriage that treats being coupled and married as the only path to a happy life.
Micro-Cheating
Micro-cheating is small acts of emotional or flirtatious betrayal that fall short of a full affair but still cross a relationship’s boundaries.
Micro-Mance
Small, low-effort gestures of affection that keep a relationship warm without grand romance.
Monkeying
Monkeying, or monkey-barring, is swinging straight from one relationship into the next without ever being single in between.
Mosting
Mosting is when someone showers you with intense affection and praise, then suddenly ghosts you with no explanation.
Multilingualship
A relationship between partners who speak different native languages and blend them in daily life.
N
Nanoship
A very brief connection or fling that flares up and fades almost as quickly as it began.
Negging
Negging is a manipulation tactic of giving someone a backhanded compliment or subtle insult to undermine their confidence and win their approval.
Netflix and Chill
Netflix and Chill is an invitation to watch something at home that is usually a coded suggestion for a casual hookup.
Non-Binary
Non-binary describes a person whose gender identity is not exclusively man or woman, falling outside the traditional two-category system.
Nonversation
A Nonversation is an empty, going-nowhere exchange, the kind of dull small talk common in dating app chats.
O
On a Thing
Being On a Thing means two people are in the early, undefined stage of dating, more than friends but not yet officially together.
Open Relationship
An Open Relationship is a committed partnership in which both people agree they can have sexual or romantic connections with others.
Orbiting
Orbiting is when someone who stopped talking to you keeps watching and interacting with your social media, staying in your orbit without real contact.
P
Pansexual
Pansexual describes a person who can be attracted to others regardless of their gender or gender identity.
Peacocking
Peacocking is dressing or behaving in a flashy, attention-grabbing way to stand out and attract potential dates.
Pen Pal
A pen pal is someone you exchange ongoing messages with, often without the relationship moving toward meeting in person.
Phubbing
Phubbing is snubbing the person you are with by paying attention to your phone instead of them.
Pie Hunting
Pie hunting is deliberately pursuing people who are heartbroken or freshly out of a breakup because they seem easier to win over.
Pocketing
Pocketing is keeping a partner hidden from your friends, family, and social life as if tucked away out of sight.
Polyamory
Polyamory is the practice of having more than one loving, intimate relationship at a time, with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved.
Q
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual and gender identities that are not heterosexual or cisgender.
R
Red Flag
A red flag is a warning sign in dating or a relationship that signals potentially harmful or incompatible behavior.
Rizz
Rizz is slang for charm or the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner through conversation and confidence.
Roaching
Roaching is hiding the fact that you are still seeing other people and treating a setup as exclusive only when caught.
Roommate Syndrome
Roommate syndrome is when partners live together smoothly but lose the romance and intimacy that once connected them.
Roster
A roster is a group of romantic or sexual prospects someone keeps in rotation while dating around, like a sports team lineup.
S
Sapiosexual
Sapiosexual describes a person who finds intelligence the most attractive trait in a potential partner.
Self-Partnered
Self-partnered describes someone single by choice who feels complete on their own rather than lacking a relationship.
Sexting
Sexting is sending sexually explicit messages, photos, or videos to another person, usually by phone or messaging app.
Ship
To ship is to support or wish for two people to be in a romantic relationship, whether real people or fictional characters.
Shrekking
Shrekking is dating someone you consider less attractive than you, expecting loyalty, then being surprised when they leave.
Simmer Dating
Simmer dating is keeping a connection at a low, steady heat without rushing it toward commitment or letting it cool off.
Situationship
A situationship is a romantic relationship that has not been clearly defined and sits somewhere between casual dating and a committed partnership.
Slow Burn
A slow burn is a romance that builds gradually over time rather than igniting with instant chemistry.
Slow Fade
The slow fade is gradually reducing contact to end a relationship without ever having a direct conversation about it.
Smokeshow
Smokeshow is slang for someone considered strikingly, head-turning attractive.
Snack
Snack is slang for a very attractive person, someone so good-looking they are described as tempting to look at.
Sneaky Link
A sneaky link is a secret hookup or romantic meetup kept hidden from friends and others.
Sober Dating
Sober dating is meeting and getting to know potential partners without alcohol or other substances involved.
Soft Launch
A soft launch is hinting at a new relationship online without fully revealing your partner’s identity.
Soul Tie
A soul tie is a deep emotional or spiritual bond felt with another person, often one that is hard to break even after a relationship ends.
Soulmate
A soulmate is a person you feel a deep, natural connection with, often described as someone uniquely suited to you.
Stashing
Stashing is hiding your partner from your online life and social circle while continuing to date them privately.
Stealthing
Stealthing is secretly removing a condom during sex without the partner’s consent, which is a form of sexual assault.
Stonewalling
Stonewalling is shutting down and refusing to communicate during a conflict, going silent or withdrawing instead of engaging.
Straight
Straight describes a person attracted to people of the opposite sex, also called heterosexual.
Submarining
Submarining is when someone who ghosted you suddenly resurfaces and acts as if no disappearance ever happened.
Swag Gap
Swag gap is a noticeable mismatch in style, charisma, or coolness between two people in a couple.
Swamping
Swamping is overwhelming a new partner with too much contact, intensity, or commitment too fast.
Swinger
A swinger is someone in a committed relationship who has agreed with their partner to have sexual encounters with other people.
T
Talking Stage
The talking stage is the early period when two people chat and get to know each other before deciding to officially date.
Text Anxiety
Text anxiety is the stress and worry someone feels around sending, receiving, or waiting for messages while dating.
Textationship
A textationship is a connection that exists almost entirely through texting, with little or no in-person time together.
Textlationship
A textlationship is a bond built mainly through texting rather than spending time together in person.
Thirst Trap
A thirst trap is a deliberately provocative or attractive photo posted on social media to attract attention and admiration.
Thirsty
Thirsty describes someone who comes across as overly eager for attention, validation, or romantic and sexual interest.
Tinderella
A Tinderella is someone you have a great date with who then vanishes, leaving no way to find them again.
Tindstagramming
Tindstagramming is when a dating-app match contacts you on Instagram instead of replying through the app itself.
Transgender
Transgender describes a person whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.
Tuning
Tuning is the early flirting and casual messaging stage where two people gauge mutual interest before dating.
Turkey Dump
A turkey dump is when a college student goes home for Thanksgiving and breaks up with a hometown partner.
Twin Flame
A twin flame is an intense soul connection believed to be a person’s other half, marked by a powerful and often turbulent bond.
U
Uncuffing Season
Uncuffing season is the spring stretch when couples who paired up for winter tend to break things off.
Untyping
Untyping is the moment you start writing a text, then delete it before sending, often out of doubt or anxiety.
V
Vibe-Based Dating
Vibe-based dating is choosing partners by how a connection feels rather than by checklists or strict criteria.
Villain Era
A villain era is a phase of prioritizing yourself and setting firm boundaries without apologizing for it.
W
Winter Coating
Winter coating is starting a relationship for warmth and company through the cold months, then ending it in spring.
Wokefishing
Wokefishing is pretending to hold progressive social values to attract a partner who cares about those beliefs.
Y
Yap-Trapping
Yap-trapping is drawing someone in with nonstop charming talk while avoiding real commitment or follow-through.
Yellow Flag
A yellow flag is a small warning sign in dating that is not a dealbreaker but worth watching over time.