Urban Dictionary: What It Is & How to Trust Its Slang

Urban Dictionary is a crowdsourced online dictionary where everyday people write definitions for slang words, internet phrases, and cultural expressions that standard dictionaries often skip. Started in 1999 by a college student, it has grown into the first place millions of people check when they run into a word they do not understand.

But looking up a word is only half the story. Urban Dictionary entries are written by users, so the top result might be accurate, exaggerated, or a joke. This guide helps you understand how the site works and how to judge what you read there. It also explains the words people search for most, like 6 7, glazing, unc, jit, and chud.

Are you staring at a comment, a text, or a TikTok caption and wondering what a word means? Are you not sure whether Urban Dictionary can be trusted, or whether the app you see in the App Store is the real one? Do you want to know what it says about your own name? This guide walks through each of those questions step by step, so you know what a definition means, how reliable it is, and what to do next.If slang and everyday expressions fascinate you, you may also enjoy our guide to 100 idioms and their meanings, which explains common phrases whose meanings are not obvious from the words alone. Now let’s start with the basics of what Urban Dictionary actually is.

What Is Urban Dictionary?

Urban Dictionary is a user-written dictionary for slang and informal language. Aaron Peckham created it in 1999 as a freshman computer science student at Cal Poly, originally to compare the slang students used in different parts of California. He also treated it as a playful answer to dictionaries that felt stuffy and too serious.

It began as a place for slang, but today people use it to define almost anything: words, phrases, events, places, and public figures. The scale has grown a lot. It had more than seven million definitions by 2014 and over twelve million by mid-2020.

The most important thing to understand is the difference in purpose. A traditional dictionary tries to describe how a word is used, with editors checking the evidence. Urban Dictionary collects what individual people say a word means, and Peckham has explained that every entry comes from someone with a personal point of view. That is why it is great for catching brand-new slang, and why you should read it differently from a standard dictionary.

How Does Urban Dictionary Work?

When you search for a word on Urban Dictionary, you may see several definitions for it, each with an example sentence. Behind those results is a simple process.

Anyone can submit a definition. Before it appears publicly, volunteer editors vote on whether it should be published. Editors are not supposed to fix spelling or wording, so what you read is what the author wrote.

Once an entry is live, readers vote with a thumbs up or thumbs down. The definition with the most positive votes usually rises to the top of the page. That means the “top definition” reflects popularity, not accuracy. A funny or catchy entry can beat a more precise one.

Urban Dictionary also publishes opinions and jokes, and it rejects obvious nonsense and ads. Keep this in mind when you search a word. You are reading a ranking of what other readers liked, not a verified meaning.

Many people also use the shortened name “urban dict” when searching for it, and it leads to the same site. The site also offers features like word-of-the-day style browsing, which makes it easy to discover new terms.

Is Urban Dictionary Reliable? How to Check a Definition

Urban Dictionary is reliable as a record of what people say and joke about online, and it is much less reliable as proof of what a word officially means. Research backs up why it is useful and uneven at the same time. A study covered by MIT Technology Review found that most words on Urban Dictionary do not appear on Wiktionary, and that its entries often include opinions rather than neutral definitions. The same study noted that offensive content tended to get lower votes.

Use this simple check when a definition matters to you:

1. Look at the date. Slang changes quickly. An entry from 2008 may describe a meaning that has faded or changed.
2. Read more than one definition. If several entries agree, that is a good sign. If they contradict each other, the word is probably used differently by different groups.
3. Cross-check with a standard source. Sites like Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster now cover many modern slang terms, and their editors verify them.

Here is how the two types of sources compare:

One more caution: the site hosts crude and offensive material, and it has been criticized for failing to remove racist and sexist entries. Its content guidelines list hate speech and bullying as reportable offenses, but you should still read with care.

Is There an Urban Dictionary App on the App Store?

Many people search “Urban Dictionary app store” expecting to download the official app. Here is what is known. According to Wikipedia, sometime in 2024 users noticed that the official iPhone and Android apps were no longer listed on the Apple App Store or Google Play. The reasons were not publicly disclosed, and people who already had the app could keep using it. That information rests on a user report, so treat it as reported rather than officially confirmed, and check the store yourself.

This matters because the App Store currently lists other apps that use the Urban Dictionary name. One example is an iPhone app called “Urban Dictionary – Daily Slang” from the developer Two4Tea. Its description says it is a modern take on an urban dictionary, which tells you it is a separate product rather than the original site. There are also third-party tools like UrbanWatch, which pulls Urban Dictionary definitions to iPhone and Apple Watch.

So what should you do?

• Check the developer name before you download anything.
• Read the app description to see whether it claims to be the official app.
• If you only need a definition, the simplest and safest option is to search on the website in your browser.
  

  Popular Words People Look Up on Urban Dictionary

  

  Some words show up in searches again and again. For each one, here is a quick answer and the context that explains it. These meanings are checked against standard dictionaries, and where Urban Dictionary says something different, that is noted.

  What Does 6 7 Mean?

  “6 7” (said “six seven”) is a viral slang phrase that is famous for not having one clear meaning. Dictionary.com named it its 2025 Word of the Year, noting that searches for it rose more than sixfold after June and describing it as nearly impossible to define.

  It is usually traced to Skrilla’s song “Doot Doot (6 7).” Basketball player LaMelo Ball later made a popular video about being six feet, seven inches tall, and the phrase spread quickly among kids and teens. People sometimes use it to mean “so-so” or “maybe this, maybe that,” but often it is just a shared joke. If you see it online, you do not need to search for a hidden meaning. The fun is in saying it.

  What Does Glazing Mean?

  Glazing means praising someone too much, especially in an over-the-top or unearned way. Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com both describe it as showering someone with excessive compliments. The comparison is to a doughnut being glazed, with the sweetness piled on thick. Urban Dictionary entries describe it more bluntly as sucking up to someone.

  You will hear it in phrases like “stop glazing,” especially in streaming and gaming chats. It is usually mildly negative, but some creators have used “self-glaze” in a positive way to mean hyping yourself up.

  What Does Unc Mean?

  “Unc” is short for uncle. It comes from African American English, where it can simply mean an older man in a family or community. Merriam-Webster lists it as humorous slang and notes that it is often used fondly.

  Online, “unc” is most often used to tease someone who acts older or out of touch, and “unc status” means someone has reached that point. For example, a friend who still uses a phone from 2015 might get called “unc.” Depending on tone, it can be an insult, a joke, or a sign of respect, so context matters.

  What Does Jit Mean?

  “Jit” means a young person or kid, and sometimes a young person who is new at something, like a rookie. Merriam-Webster notes it comes from African American English and is strongly linked to Florida. It has been used online since the early 2000s and is much older in speech.

  It is often neutral, though it can sound slightly negative when someone is being called unwise or out of line. If you see other explanations of its origin, including some on Urban Dictionary, treat them as claims rather than confirmed facts. Be careful with websites that say “jit” means “just in time.” That is an unrelated business acronym, not this slang.

  What Does Chud Mean?

  “Chud” started as the name of a 1984 horror film, C.H.U.D., which stands for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers. It later became an insult. An Urban Dictionary entry for it was created in February 2003 and described an unpleasant or unappealing person.

  In recent years, the word is most often used online as a pejorative for someone with far-right or reactionary views. Because it is an insult, how it lands depends entirely on who says it and why. If you need to describe someone, a neutral word is usually clearer.

  What About “Warm Milk” on Urban Dictionary?

  “Warm milk” is an ordinary phrase, which means searching it on Urban Dictionary can surface many different user-written entries. I could not confirm a single, established slang meaning for it from a reliable dictionary, so it is better not to assume one. If you came across the phrase in a specific post, song, or video, use the check from earlier in this guide: open the Urban Dictionary page, compare several entries, look at the dates and votes, and consider the context where you saw it. If the surrounding words point to a literal meaning, it probably is literal.

  What Does Urban Dictionary Say About Your Name?

  Searching for your own name is one of the most common reasons people use Urban Dictionary. It became a trend in February 2010, when many people posted the Urban Dictionary definitions of their names as Facebook statuses. That day brought the highest recorded traffic in the site’s history.

  Names are handled by a specific editor rule: celebrity names can be published, while the names of ordinary friends and acquaintances are supposed to be rejected. So if your name has an entry, it may describe a famous person or a general idea about the name rather than you. Many entries are jokes. Read them as entertainment, not as facts about the name or its meaning.

  If you want to explore a name’s real origin, a baby-name or etymology site is a better source. And if you enjoy exploring words, sayings, and meanings in general, you can browse the collections at Quote of Fame.

  Frequently Asked Questions

  Can I cite Urban Dictionary in an essay or school project?

  It is usually a poor choice. Teachers and professors generally expect sources with editorial review. If you are writing about slang itself, you can mention Urban Dictionary as an example of how people describe a word, but confirm the meaning with a standard dictionary or a published linguistic source.

  Has Urban Dictionary been used in court?

  Yes. As of 2013, it had been used in several court cases to help explain slang that standard dictionaries did not cover. A UK judge also reportedly used it in 2003 to help interpret rap lyrics. This shows its value as evidence of how people talk, not as an official authority.

  How do I report an offensive definition?

  Urban Dictionary’s content guidelines treat hate speech, bullying, and statements meant to discriminate or incite violence as reportable. Use the flag option on the entry itself so it can be reviewed.

  Is Urban Dictionary safe for kids?

  It is not designed for children. The site includes sexually explicit and offensive entries, and it does not filter them by age. If a child asks about a slang word, a better route is to look it up together in a source like Merriam-Webster’s slang pages or Dictionary.com, then talk about the context.

  Conclusion

  Urban Dictionary is best understood as a record of how people talk, not a final ruling on what words mean. It is fast, funny, and often the first place new slang appears, but its top definition is whatever readers voted highest.

  Now you know how to use it well. Check the date, compare several entries, and confirm important meanings with a standard dictionary. Be careful with apps that borrow the name, and treat name definitions as entertainment. For the words people search most, you also have a clear answer: 6 7 is famously ambiguous, glazing is over-the-top praise, unc is a teasing word for someone who acts older, jit means a kid, and chud is an insult with a movie-monster origin.If you want to go deeper into how the site started and how its voting and editing system works, the Urban Dictionary entry on Wikipedia is a helpful overview. When you are ready to look up a word, search it in your browser or ask a friend who knows the slang, and remember to confirm important meanings with a standard dictionary before you rely on them.