5 Twitter abbreviations and what they mean

5 Twitter abbreviations and what they mean

I was meeting with a prospective client recently, and she asked me what “RT” meant in reference to Twitter. It prompted the idea to create a post on common abbreviations used on Twitter.

Because Twitter limits tweets to 140 characters, abbreviations are common in the service. Here are some common abbreviations and what they mean.

Abbreviation Meaning
RT retweet
MT modified tweet
FF Follow Friday
DM direct message
TBT Throwback Thursday

These are the Twitter-specific abbreviations used on Twitter, but there are loads of other internet lingo, too (such as, LOL, IMO, SMH, and TBH), that aren’t specific to Twitter. You can search this comprehensive collection of Internet lingo to find out what those abbreviations me.

By Kim Siever

I am a copywriter and copyeditor. I blog on writing and social media tips mostly, but I sometimes throw in my thoughts about running a small business. Follow me on Twitter at @hotpepper.