Kevin
January 23, 2022
Common Questions

OP has a couple of meanings — here is what they are, what their individual meanings are, and how to use them in the right contexts!

Ever since the beginning of digital communication as a primary means of communication, increasing the efficiency and efficacy of conversation and discussion has been significant. The internet is one of the most common places to find clever acronyms and abbreviations. Knowing what these mean can help you have a much easier time engaging with other people online, over text, and in other abbreviated forms.

This is what the incredibly popular acronym OP means in multiple contexts online. The odds are good that if you’ve engaged with any online forums or multiplayer video games, you’ve heard this term thrown around. Knowing what it means and how to use it can help you speak and understand much more clearly, and keep your own vernacular up to date.

What Does OP Mean?

The acronym OP actually has two significant meanings, depending on the online context in which they are used. While the spelling and pronunciation of the term remain the same, the actual meanings of the letters themselves have different meanings.

In the context of online forums like Reddit and Tumblr and social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, OP means “Original Poster.” This is commonly seen as the first definition of OP since this acronym dates all the way back to the early days of the internet in the 1990s. It was seen on early comment pages and message boards, and the term has gradually found its way into the vernacular of Redditors and users of modern internet forums.

In the context of modern video games like Fortnite and League of Legends, the term means “Overpowered.” This is used to describe a game element in an online game that seems to have an unfair advantage over other gamers. When someone or something is overpowered, they seem to have much more power and ability and can defeat their opponents with much more ease than the people they are playing against.

What Does OP Mean in the Context of Online Forums?

OP is common terminology in many discussion threads and online forums today. This is typically used when they are referring back to the person who initially asked a question, made a statement, or shared something in an original post.

There are online forums for all kinds of goods and many communities based on real-life interests that can benefit from the wealth of knowledge that appears when lots of people come together. Generally speaking, a post on a forum is usually made to elicit a response from other forum users. It’s a great way to share ideas, thoughts, and tips with people who share a similar hobby or interest.

It is helpful to refer to the original poster of a discussion thread with a common term that is easy to type and send. When someone wants to offer advice or respond directly to what the original poster of the thread says, they will often refer to the OP. This word usage makes it incredibly easy to foster quality communication between different people online.

What Does OP Mean in the Context of Video Games?

OP is also commonly used within the context of online video games. Since the rise of real-time multiplayer in the 2000s, lots of slang and lingo have developed around the online gaming culture.

In video games, a primary goal of many developers is to make sure that every game element is balanced and won’t make any single player too powerful. In almost every case, that makes the game less fun for everyone involved. The whole goal is to make it so that every player that has put a lot of practice and skill into the tools they use in the game can find a lot of success and that no weapon or tool makes them too powerful.

When something within a video has too much power, people will call it OP, which means “overpowered.” To fix this problem, many players will request to “nerf” the weapon or tool, lowering its efficacy. This is usually done to balance the game better and make it easier to win. Conversely, if something is underpowered, gamers will request to “buff” that element, which means adding power to it so that the game can be more balanced as a whole.

Other things commonly seen as OP in video games are bosses that are too hard to defeat. If it’s hard to get past a level due to one enemy, gamers will often call that element “OP” and request that it be nerfed. Due to the highly updatable nature of modern internet-based video games, making these updates is an essential and prevalent part of gaming in the modern world.

Example Sentences Using the Term OP

Here are some example sentences that make use of the term OP. The context is the principal determiner of what the term means, so here are some examples that pertain to those specific contexts!

In the context of online forums:

I would like to inform the OP that their username is one of the best I’ve ever seen!
In response to the OP’s question, New York is the name of both a city and a state in the United States!
Even if the OP doesn’t think so, I still believe that Opera is a viable form of music in the modern world.

In the context of video games:

One of the most common examples of OP weapons is the pistol in Halo: Combat Evolved.
I was trying to beat the game in one sitting, but the final boss was too OP, and so I finally gave up.
That person has been using that OP gun to troll everyone for the past couple of rounds — it needs to be nerfed.

Wrapping It Up

The English language is unique because one word or term can mean so many different things. If you’re ever confused about what a word means, feel free to consult our blog at The Word Counter! We’re always adding new articles about confusing words in the English language, and if you’re looking to understand communication as a whole better, feel free to take a look around!

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Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.