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

This guide will give you all of the knowledge you need on the abbreviation MWM, including its meaning, origin, sentence examples, and more!

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What does MWM stand for?

Most commonly, MWM stands for “Married White Male.” According to Online Slang Dictionary, this is used mainly in personal ads for people seeking discreet encounters. These men are normally looking to cheat on their partners. Another common related acronym is MWF, which stands for “Married White Female,” according to Urban Dictionary

The term MWM can be used in other ways in personal ads as well, the second most common being “Men Wanting Men.” This term has other popular variants, MSM and M4M, which stand for “Man Seeking Man” or “Man For Man,” according to Acronym Finder. These acronyms can be used for any combination of genders, including WSW/W4W for “Women Seeking Women,” or “Woman for Woman,” WSM/W4M for “Woman Seeking Man” or “Woman For Man,” or MSW/M4W for “Man Seeking Woman” or “Man For Woman.”

The abbreviation MWM has other less common meanings listed below from The Free Dictionary, but the most popular is seen in personal ads to stand for “Married White Male.”

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What are other acronyms like MWM?

The term MWM is commonly seen on online personal ads and dating sites. These websites, like Craigslist, use a plethora of internet slang and jargon to abbreviate what they are looking for or who they are. These terms may be confusing at first, so below is a list of these abbreviations from Webopedia alongside their definitions.

  • A/S/L – Age/Sex/Location, this is a common first question from one person to another. Here, they are requesting the person’s age, their sex or gender, and where they are located.
  • BBW – Big beautiful woman; this is a slang term used to refer to a plus sized woman.
  • BF/GF – Boyfriend/girlfriend
  • BIF/BIM – Bisexual female or bisexual male; these abbreviations are used to refer to men or women who are attracted to more than one gender.
  • D – Divorced
  • DF/DDF – Drug free/drug and disease free; someone may put this in their profile as a descriptor or use it to request someone who does not have any STIs or drug use.
  • Dom/Domme – Dominant male/dominant female; these are usually used by people who are looking for “subs” in a dom/sub relationship.
  • ISO – In search of; usually used in a header or add to show what someone is looking for.
  • M – Married
  • MC – Married couple; this may be used for a couple seeking a third or another couple.
  • LTR – Long term relationship
  • SOH/GSOH – Sense of humor/good sense of humor

What are synonyms and antonyms for MWM?

MWM stands for married white male. Lists of synonyms and antonyms for this term are below, from Thesaurus. Synonyms are words that mean the same thing, while antonyms are word that mean the opposite. Definitions provided by Oxford Languages.

SYNONYMS

  • Groom – Someone who is engaged to be married, or who is newly married.
  • Husband – A man who is married.
  • Spouse – A husband who is considered in relation to his partner.
  • Partner – A member of a married couple, or of an unmarried but long term couple.

ANTONYMS

  • Bachelor – A man who is not nor has ever been married.
  • Single – Someone who is not in a relationship.
  • Available – Someone who is looking for a relationship and is not currently in one.
  • Stag – A man without a partner.
  • Unattached – Not in a relationship.

How can MWM be used in a sentence?

MWM is most commonly used in personal ads or on websites like Craigslist for people seeking relationships. These headings may look something like the below.

MWM seeks SF (single female) for discreet encounter. DDF (drug and disease free.)

MWM seeking DW (divorced woman) for LDR (long distance relationship)

Most people would not use the initialism in casual conversation and would say the entire phrase aloud. However, if someone was saying it in reference to some sort of scandal, it may be appropriate.

Kevin and Lacey are coworkers. Over the weekend, a news story broke about their boss putting out personal ads when he is married. Lacey can’t wait to talk to Kevin about it on Monday morning, and she approaches him at his desk.

Lacey: Kevin! Tell me you saw the news story!

Kevin: It’s all I’ve thought about all weekend. His ad was burned into my brain: “MWM seeks BBW for casual encounter.” Crazy, right?

Lacey: I know. I know he’s trying to say he and his wife are in an open relationship, but who knows if he’s just saying that to make this all go away.

Kevin: We may never know.

Here, Kevin uses MWM in reference to their boss’ personal ad, because he had read the story so many times he was able to recite it word for word.

Overall, the initialism MWM stands for “Married White Male.” This is commonly seen in personal ads whether printed or online, and is typically used by people who are seeking discreet encounters to cheat on their partners or to find other partners if their relationship is open.

Sources:

  1. http://onlineslangdictionary.com/meaning-definition-of/mwm
  2. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=MWM
  3. https://www.acronymfinder.com/Men-Seeking-Men-(MSM).html
  4. https://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/MWM