Guide to American College Slang Words in 2021 If you use slang in more formal settings, like at work, people might see you as rude or unprofessional. As a general rule, you can use slang with your friends and classmates, but should use more formal English when speaking to professors and coworkers. Knowing how and when to use slang terms will help you connect with and better understand American students. (They might laugh, and not in a good way.) For example, try saying Wazzzup to one of your classmates and see how they respond. Other slang words are trendy, or come from current music, TV, or movies, and are only used for a short time. An example of an idiom is “out of the blue” to indicate something that happened without warning. Some phrases, like “what’s up?”, have been around so long that they have become idioms, or common expressions where the meaning of certain word combinations are really different from their literal meaning.
Slang expressions also change constantly. You are saying that you will stay calm under pressure. For example, when you “keep your cool,” you are not talking about the temperature. Slang terms are words or phrases that have a cultural definition that is different from the literal definition.
Our guide to American college slang words in 2021 will help you better understand American slang and to how to use it. You might even hear some slang expressions at your internship or job. You may hear dozens of slang terms around your college campus. For international students, learning a new language like English can be tricky, especially American slang.