interjection Internet Slang

LOL

EL-OH-EL · interjection · informal

Laughing out loud; signals amusement at something funny.

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Definitions

1

Stands for "laughing out loud," used to indicate amusement or that something is funny. Over time it has softened into a general marker of lightheartedness rather than literal laughter.

“You sent that email to the whole company by accident? LOL, that's rough.”
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2

Used ironically or as a filler at the end of a message to soften the tone, even when nothing is actually funny.

“I'm probably going to fail this exam lol.”
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LOL In A Sentence

You sent that email to the whole company by accident? LOL, that's rough.
I'm probably going to fail this exam lol.

Origin & Usage

Attributed to bulletin-board users in the early-to-mid 1980s; first documented in the FidoNews newsletter in May 1989. Added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2011.

Variants lolLollolzlulz
Tags #texting#acronym#laughter#interjection#internet

People Also Ask

What does LOL mean?

LOL stands for "laughing out loud" and is used to show that something is funny or to keep a message lighthearted.

Does LOL always mean someone is really laughing?

No. It has softened over time into a general marker of amusement or friendliness, and is often typed without any actual laughter.

Where did LOL come from?

It goes back to bulletin-board users in the early-to-mid 1980s and was first documented in the FidoNews newsletter in May 1989. The OED added it in 2011.

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