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

Do you know the definition of YT? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the abbreviation YT, including its definition, usage, examples, and more!

Your writing, at its best

Compose bold, clear, mistake-free, writing with Grammarly's AI-powered writing assistant

What does the acronym YT mean?

According to Cyber Definitions and Newsweek, the acronym YT can either stand for YouTube or whitey, meaning a white person, or a person who is not a person of color. This slang term is commonly used on many different social media platforms like Twitter, TikTok, online gaming chats, the popular Reddit, and other places by young people as an abbreviation. This term began being used to get around race-related rules and regulations by users on TikTok. Many TikTok creators and TikTok users have posted unverified reports of having videos featuring race-related words flagged and moderated by the app, especially when they were paired with race-related content that might violate community guidelines. A TikTok spokesperson made it clear that they do not tolerate hate speech or hateful ideologies, and while the app has previously faced criticism for issues surrounding diversity and race relations. In June 2020, TikTok issued an apology to its Black community, after complaints that Black creators weren’t getting as much exposure on the app as others. They then detailed the platform’s plan of action.

TikTok is home to new dance crazes or trends and pop songs around the world, but the app is so much more than that. From advertising items of clothing in Paris, France to discussing race relations and fair questions from the screen of an iPhone, users of the app use TikTok for much more than mainstream use. The acronym is also used because captions and longer messages are capped in length, so they need to find acronyms as a replacement for words. Some may think this popular text slang is an unnecessary abbreviation, but in recent years the number of online chat popular slang look ups today and web acronyms have skyrocketed. While this can cause misunderstanding, it also creates a new vernacular, i.e. white folks > yt folx.

According to The Free Dictionary, YT can stand for much more than just YouTube or white. This acronym is used for efficiency reasons and has other potential alternative definitions, but these are less commonly used. If you do decide to use one of these alternate meanings, make sure that you provide the person you are talking to with the proper context and information so that they are not confused by the acronym’s double meaning. 

  •  You Too
  •  Yoga Teacher
  •  Young Threat (hip hop artist)
  •  Yung Tune
  •  Yukon Territory (Canadian province; amusement park)
  •  Youth Together
  •  Mayotte (ISO country code, top level domain)
  •  Yellowtail (sportfish)
  •  Your Turn
  •  Young Telegraph (former children’s supplement of UK newspaper)
  •  Yard Tugboat
  •  Yorkshire Terrier
  •  Harbor Tug (US Navy)
  •  Youth Theatre
  •  YouThink.com
  •  Yukon Time
  •  You There?
  •  Yes Trump (bridge)
  •  Yours Truly
  •  Air Togo (IATA airline code)

What are other internet slang and text slang acronyms?

YT is one of many chat acronyms you may see. The best resource for finding acronyms of this category is Zip Whip, which has provided the below list of common knowledge acronyms and abbreviations you might see in text conversations or on social media, or in some face to face conversations. When in doubt, use the equivalent full form of the popular phrase or web abbreviations you are intending despite the acronym’s convenience. 

  •  TYT: Take your time
  •  B4N: Bye for now
  •  MFW: My face when
  •  GR8: Great
  •  QAP: Quick as possible
  •  IYKYK: If you know you know
  •  W/O: Without
  •  IMO: In my opinion
  •  NTH: Nice to have
  •  TBH: To be honest
  •  DM: Direct message
  •  SNMP: So not my problem
  •  NVM: Never mind
  •  AMAA: Ask me almost anything
  •  YW: You’re welcome
  •  DIKY: Do I know you?
  •  PNL: Peace & love
  •  TIA: Thanks in advance
  •  IRL: In real life
  •  YP: Yes please
  •  TY: Thank you
  •  FYI: For your information
  •  JSYK: Just so you know
  •  BFF: Best friends forever
  •  BRB: Be right back
  •  OOTD: Outfit of the day
  •  Bestie: a best friend or term of endearment
  •  ASAP: As soon as possible
  •  YMMV: Your mileage may vary
  •  YGTI: You get the idea
  •  ICYMI: In case you missed it
  •  SMH: Shaking my head
  •  FTW: For the win
  •  IKR: I know, right
  •  NBD: No big deal
  •  EOD: End of day
  •  IFYP: I feel your pain
  •  Tea: Gossip, drama
  •  RN: Right now
  •  SFLR: Sorry for late reply
  •  CYA: See ya
  •  OOO: Out of office
  •  NGL: Not gonna lie
  •  IDC: I don’t care
  •  OMG: Oh my god/gosh
  •  COB: Close of business
  •  FWIW: For what it’s worth
  •  DIY: Do it yourself
  •  BC or B/C: Because
  •  BDAY: Birthday
  •  ATM: At the moment
  •  FTFY: Fixed that for you
  •  Finna: going to, intending to
  •  IG: Instagram
  •  Bae: Before anyone else
  •  TBC: To be continued
  •  ISTG: I swear to god
  •  AFAIK: As far as I know
  •  G2G: Got to go
  •  TFW: That feeling when
  •  PPL: People
  •  TIL: Today I learned
  •  SRSLY: Seriously
  •  HTH: Hope this helps
  •  Sus: Suspicious
  •  QOTD: Quote of the day
  •  ROFL: Rolling on floor laughing
  •  POV: Point of view
  •  SO: Significant other
  •  WYWH: Wish you were here
  •  WFH: Work from home
  •  HMU: Hit me up
  •  JK: Just kidding
  •  JIC: Just in case
  •  OFC: Of course
  •  TTP: To the point
  •  TMI: Too much information
  •  TBD: To be determined or to be decided
  •  IDK: I don’t know
  •  BBL: Be back later
  •  V: Very
  •  YOLO: You only live once
  •  TBA: To be announced
  •  TGIF: Thank goodness/god it’s Friday
  •  HIFW: How I feel when
  •  LOL: Laughing out loud
  •  BTW: By the way
  •  KMN: Kill me know
  •  OMW: On my way
  •  AKA: Also known as
  •  THX: Thanks
  •  IIRC: If I recall correctly
  •  TBF: To be frank
  •  Yeet: To throw something or used as an exclamation
  •  MRW: My reaction when
  •  TTYL: Talk to you later
  •  MSG: Message
  •  HBU: How about you?
  •  DAE: Does any else
  •  F2F: Face to face
  •  FOMO: Fear of missing out
  •  YT: Let me know
  •  WDYM: What do you mean?
  •  NP: No problem
  •  IMHO: In my humble/honest opinion
  •  ILY: I love you
  •  CYT: See you tomorrow
  •  OTOH: On the other hand
  •  OML: Oh my lord
  •  AMA: Ask me anything
  •  TL;DR: Too long, don’t/didn’t read

Overall, the acronym YT means white or YouTube. This is a common internet slang term on TikTok.

Sources:

  1. 110 Texting Acronyms, Abbreviations and Slang to Know | Zip Whip 
  2. YT – What does YT stand for? | The Free Dictionary  
  3. YT | What Does YT Mean? | Cyber Definitions 
  4. YT Meaning on TikTok—New Slang Word for ‘White People’ Sparks ConfusionÂ