initialism🔤 abbreviation
IDK
I don't know
What it means
IDK stands for 'I don't know.' It's a quick way to admit uncertainty in a message, and the tone ranges from genuinely unsure to playfully noncommittal. It often appears lowercase and can soften a 'no' or a hesitation.
Words like “IDK” are exactly the kind of vocabulary our English vocabulary size test measures — find out how many English words you know.
Examples
- IDK, maybe we should ask someone else.
- idk what to wear tonight.
- Where should we eat? IDK, you pick.
- He just said 'idk' and shrugged.
Where it comes from
A texting initialism that mirrors the spoken 'I dunno,' valued for being faster to type than the full phrase.
Related abbreviations
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