What Does LMAO Mean, and How Do You Use It?

Have you gotten messages that had the word LMAO in them? Or maybe you might’ve heard someone say it in person? Do you want to find out what this acronym means and how to use it, this article will help you?

Laughing My A** Off

LMAO means “laughing my ass off.” LMAO is used when people want to show that they’re laughing a lot at something, maybe at a humorous message or a meme. For example, if you received a funny video, you might reply “LMAO.” Or, you could pair it with a phrase such as “That’s hilarious lmao.”

This is closely related to two other acronyms, LOL and ROFL, they mean “laughing out loud” and “rolling on the floor laughing”. Many people perceive LMAO as more intense and louder than LOL and roughly as expressive as ROFL.

LMAO and its History

LMAO can be traced back to the early 1990s, coinciding with the rise of internet messaging services like IRC or even bulletin boards. The first definition for LMAO on Urban Dictionary was made in June 2002. On the contrary, the first entry for LMFAO is from 2003.

The acronym eventually became commonplace on the internet, especially as instant messaging apps, as well as SMS, soared in popularity. Nowadays, lmao is an arguable part of an average internet user’s vocabulary.

The LMAO Variants

Equal in popularity is LMFAO, which means “laughing my fu***ng ass off”. These two acronyms are used interchangeably, they are roughly equal in terms of popularity. On the flip side, few people, particularly younger internet users, use the phrase “laughing my butt off” to avoid the derogatory in the original initialism.

Another variant is when LMAO is combined with its fellow internet slang term ROFL to form ROFLMAO, this means “rolling on the floor, laughing my ass off.” People tend to use it when something is incredibly hilarious and justifies the effort to type all those letters.

The uppercase and lowercase versions of LMAO have slightly different meanings. LMAO is often used to express more uproarious, hysterical laughter, while lmao expresses a chuckle or even a small laugh. You might also find many people using the lowercase “lmao” in texting as a filler word that comes before or after sentences/phrases.

LMAO in Culture

Due to its popularity, there are many memes as well as pop culture trends that use LMAO along with its variants.

The most popular meme is from 2016 called “Ayy LMAO.” This image macro depicted an image of an alien with the text “ayy lmao” under it as a humorous effect. Thanks to the popularity of the meme, the phrase itself garnered mainstream usage. To this day, a lot of people use “ayy lmao” out loud to convey either their excitement or their interest.

For a while, a viral musical act had also named themselves after the acronym. LMFAO was an electronic dance duo that was active from 2006 to 2012, approximately in tune with the term’s entry into pop culture. The group had released “Party Rock Anthem,” which become one of the best-selling songs of all time.

LMAO has also entered the spoken language, with many people saying “lmao” when something is funny instead of just laughing. The word is commonly pronounced as “la mao” or somewhat along those lines.

How to Use LMAO

If you wish to use LMAO/LMFAO yourself, you can use it whenever you want to express laughter. It can be sent on its own or it can also be paired with other expressions of laughs like gifs or even emojis. Since the acronym is relatively informal, you should avoid using it in professional communications or e-mails. It is advised to keep it to personal conversations, for example in a conversation with your friends.

Here are a few examples for when you can use LMAO:

“LMAO did you see him that guy tripping?”

“This is the funniest video I’ve seen all day lmao.”

“LMFAO, no way!”

“Bro, the meme you sent, is hilarious, LMFAO.”

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