The Meaning of LMY: What It Is and How To Use It

What does LMY stand for?

LMY is a chat or textspeak acronym that stands for “love and miss you.” This common abbreviation is used on social media sites like Snapchat, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and more. It is also commonly used in SMS texting or via instant messengers. This is a slang term that has come to be alongside other chatspeak phrases like ILY, IMY, LOL, and more! Urban Dictionary states that LMY could, in fact, have originated as a misspelling of “IMY” that has morphed into common usage over time.

While the most common meaning of LMY is “love and miss you,” The Free Dictionary and All Acronyms state a variety of other definitions for the acronym.

• Lake Murray Airport – An airport in Oklahoma, approximately 2 miles east of Overbrook, Oklahoma, according to Sky Vector.
• Lean Meat Yield – The amount of meat recovered off of a carcass, expressed as a percentage, according to Meat and Livestock Australia.
• Lamy – An Amtrak station code for Lamy, NM.
• Luxury Mediterranean Yachting – A yacht chartering group based in Greece.
• Air Almaty – LMY is the airline code for this airline, based out of Kazakhstan according to Plane Mapper.
• Lactation Milk Yield – A veterinary term referring to the amount of milk a cow produces, according to The Cattle Site.
• Low Milk Yielders – A term referring to cows that do not produce a lot of milk, according to an article from BMC Genomics.
• Lane Mile Years – A term used by the U.S. Department of Transportation to refer to the health of a highway and its management.
• Liselerarası Müzik Yarışması – A high school music competition based in Istanbul.

How can LMY be used in a sentence?

LMY can be used in casual texting sentences between friends and family. Below is an example of how LMY can be used appropriately. Sammi wasn’t able to come home for Thanksgiving from her job abroad. Her mom sent her a photo of the family at Thanksgiving dinner via text message, and Sammi responds:

Sammi: So cute! Great to see the whole family together. Wish I could be there. LMY.

Mom: We miss you too! We can’t wait to see you at Christmas.

Sammi: I’ve already got my ticket booked!

Here, Sammi uses LMY with her mother to express that she loves and misses her family and wishes she could be there for the holiday.

Is LMY casual or formal?

LMY is a casual abbreviation that should never be used in formal company. The phrase is rarely spoken aloud, and is typically only used when texting or instant messaging, or on social media sites. Below is an example of an inappropriate circumstance in which to use LMY, followed by a revised version.

Remi is sending an email to a former employer asking for a letter of recommendation. She addresses the email to her supervisor, Lina, whom she was close to.

BAD:

Hey Li!

How r u! Hope u n the team r good. I’m applying to college n I need a letter of rec. Could u write me 1? U know me better than most! Lmk if u can and I’ll send u the deets. Tysm. Lmy!!

-Remi <3

GOOD:

Hi Lina,

How have you been? I hope you and the team are doing well; please send them my regards. I am currently applying to college and was wondering if you might be able to write me a letter of recommendation? You have seen my work ethic and dedication first hand, and it would mean a lot to have a letter coming from you. Please let me know if you have time and I can send you all of the information on the letter. Thank you so much. I miss working with you!

Best,

Remi

LMY should not be used to address people in professional, business, or formal settings, and should only be used in casual text conversation between friends and family.

What are other similar acronyms to LMY?

There are a plethora of other chat speak and textspeak phrases that are similar to LMK and denote love and care, some of which are synonyms. Dictionary and Cyber Definitions show the below loving abbreviations.

• IMY – I Miss You
• IMU – I Miss You, with “u” substituting “you.”
• IMYSM – I Miss You So Much
• IMYA – I Miss You Already
• IMY2 – I Miss You Too
• ILY – I Love You
• ILU – I Love You, with “u” substituting “you.”
• ILY2 – I Love You Too
• ILYSM – I Love You So Much
• ILYL – I Love You Lots
• I <3 U – I Love You, with the less than symbol and the three creating a heart, as in “I Heart You.” The “u” also substitutes in place of the word “you.” The <3 is commonly seen, including the ever-famous “”I <3 New York.”
• 143 – I Love You, with each number stating the number of letters in the word. 1 letter in I, 4 in love, and 3 in you.
• 459 – I Love You, with each number representing where “I” “L” and “Y” are on an alphanumeric keypad
• 1234 – I Love You, taking inspiration from the Plain White T’s song “1, 2, 3, 4.” Here, the lyrics state, “There’s only one thing, to do, three words, for you; I love you.”
• XOXO – Hugs and kisses, with “x” representing a kiss and “o” representing a hug.
• LOML – Love of My Life

Overall, LMY stands for “love and miss you” and is a casual textspeak piece of internet slang that can be used in texting, or via social media. This abbreviation should never ne used in formal or professional settings.

Sources:

1. https://www.cyberdefinitions.com/definitions/IMY.html
2. https://www.dictionary.com/e/acronyms/lmy/#:~:text=LMY%20is%20a%20textspeak%20acronym,hugs%20and%20kisses
3. https://genius.com/Plain-white-ts-1234-lyrics
4. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=lmy
5. https://www.planemapper.com/airlines/LMY
6. https://www.allacronyms.com/LMY
7. https://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/LMY
8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5001199/
9. https://solutionstofeedback.mla.com.au/sheep/yield/#:~:text=Lean%20meat%20yield%20is%20expressed,the%20GR%20site%20(ribs)
10. https://www.thecattlesite.com/articles/4248/managing-cow-lactation-cycles/#:~:text=In%20temperate%20dairy%20systems%2C%20total,L%20full%20lactation%20milk%20yield
11. https://skyvector.com/airport/1F1/Lake-Murray-State-Park-Airport
12. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/preservation/if07006ppt.cfm