LOL

What it means

LOL stands for 'laughing out loud.' It signals that something is funny, though in practice it has softened into a general marker of friendliness or lightness — people often type it without actually laughing. It can stand alone or punctuate a sentence.

Words like “LOL” are exactly the kind of vocabulary our English vocabulary size test measures — find out how many English words you know.

Examples

• LOL, that meme is perfect.
• I just tripped over my own feet lol.
• He replied 'sure lol' so I couldn't tell if he was serious.
• She texts 'lol' after almost everything.

Where it comes from

One of the oldest internet initialisms, dating to 1980s message boards and chat rooms. Its meaning has drifted from literal laughter toward a tone-softener.

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