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Slang file #001RisingFeelings & vibes

What does FOMO mean?

Say itFOH-moh/ˈfoʊ.moʊ/noun

Stands for
  1. FFear
  2. OOf
  3. MMissing
  4. OOut

The worried feeling that other people are having fun, or doing something important, without you.

Written by the Second Language TeamWritten

FOMO is short for fear of missing out. It is the uneasy feeling that something fun or important is happening somewhere else, and you are not part of it. You will see it in texts, on social media, at work, and even in news about money.

People say it as one word, like a name, not letter by letter. It is casual but not rude, so you can use it almost anywhere except formal writing.

Word stats

How casual
Casual, but everyone knows it. Even news sites and ads use it.
OK at work
Fine in a chat with coworkers. Skip it in a report or a job application.
Grandma-safe
Totally safe. Your grandma might even use it, and that is the scary part.
Cringe risk
Low. FOMO has been around since 2004, so it sounds normal, not try-hard.
Freshness
Not new, but more people look it up every year. It is not going anywhere.

Spotted in the wild

Group chat · Saturday, 11:42 pm
  1. Mayathe concert is INSANE 😭 they played the new song
  2. Leovideo incoming 🎥🎥🎥
  3. Youok I stayed home to "save money" and now I have massive FOMO
  4. Mayalol next time just come

What it means here: You feel bad because your friends are at the concert and you are not.

Instagram caption
  1. travel.with.tamSunset in Lisbon 🌅 sorry for the FOMO, everyone at the office

What it means here: A joke: Tam knows the photo will make office workers wish they were there too.

Work chat · #general
  1. Priyathere’s free pizza in the kitchen 🍕
  2. YouI’m on a call for 20 more minutes, the FOMO is real

What it means here: Light and friendly. This is about as formal as FOMO gets.

How to use it

  • have / get FOMOI always get FOMO when my friends travel without me.
  • give someone FOMOStop posting beach photos, you’re giving me FOMO!
  • massive / serious FOMOI have serious FOMO about that festival.
  • the FOMO is realEveryone is at the game tonight. The FOMO is real.
  • FOMO + nounHe bought the stock out of pure FOMO.

Don’t say it like this

  • Sounds offI am FOMO.

    Say thisI have FOMO.

    FOMO is a feeling you have, not a word that describes you. Think "I have a headache", not "I am a headache".

  • Sounds off"Ef-oh-em-oh"

    Say this"FOH-moh"

    Say it as one word. Spelling it out letter by letter sounds like you are reading a medical report.

  • Sounds offI have FOMO of the party.

    Say thisI have FOMO about the party.

    Use "about". "Of" is already inside the acronym: fear OF missing out.

  • Sounds offDear Hiring Manager, I had FOMO about this job…

    Say thisDear Hiring Manager, I did not want to miss this opportunity…

    Slang does not belong in formal writing. Save FOMO for your friends.

FOMO or not?

Is each of these FOMO? Pick an answer to find out.

  1. Your friends post photos from a party you skipped. Now you check your phone every two minutes.

  2. You skip the party, eat noodles in bed, watch a movie, and feel amazing about it.

  3. Everyone at work is buying a new crypto coin, so you buy some too. You do not know what it is.

  4. Your favorite café closed forever, and you feel sad.

The FOMO family

  • JOMOJoy of missing out: happily staying home.FOMO’s calm sibling who owns a lot of candles.
  • FOBOFear of a better option: you cannot choose because something better might come.Coined in the same 2004 article as FOMO. Still deciding where to eat.
  • YOLOYou only live once: a reason to do something bold.What FOMO says right before it buys the concert ticket.

Where it came from

  1. 2004Patrick McGinnis, a Harvard Business School student, names two feelings in a column for the school newspaper: FOMO, the fear of missing out, and FOBO, the fear of a better option. Classmates start saying them. [1]
  2. 2013Oxford Dictionaries Online adds FOMO: anxiety that something exciting may be happening somewhere else, often caused by posts on social media. [2]
  3. TodayFOMO is everywhere: in ads ("only 3 left!"), in money news, and in every group chat on a Saturday night.

FOMO, jealousy, or regret?

These three feelings are close, and learners often mix them up. The difference is time and target.

FeelingWhat you thinkWhen
FOMO"Everyone is there and I’m not."While it is happening, or just before
Jealousy"I want what she has."Any time; it is about a person
Regret"I should have gone."After it is over

You can feel all three about one party: FOMO while your friends post photos, jealousy of the friend who met a celebrity there, and regret the next morning.

Sources

  1. Social Theory at HBS: McGinnis’ Two FOsThe Harbus, May 1, 2004
  2. TL;DR, Emoji, Phablet and More are now Official in Oxford Dictionary, SrslyLowyat.NET, August 29, 2013

More slang to decode

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