What ‘FS’ means on Instagram, TikTok, texting, and more

Slang is ever-evolving in the modern age, so it’s easy to get left behind with the changing of the times. Soon enough, you find yourself out of the loop with whatever ‘hip’ lingo the kids are using, both face-to-face and over text. As Snapchat and Instagram grow more popular, text replies are getting shorter. In this hectic world we live in, no one has the time to type out full sentences anymore.

Sometimes, if it isn’t one-word replies, text messages are now incorporating acronyms to communicate. Consider the classic ‘WTF’ or ‘LOL’ that shorten a universally understood expression, even though we’d argue that the intention behind ‘LOL’ (meaning both ‘Laugh Out Loud’ and ‘Lots of Love’ interchangeably) can be misconstrued. It’s been around for some time now, but we’re surprised to hear that not everyone knows what ‘FS’ stands for.

Thankfully, you don’t have to wonder for too long.

The slang ‘FS’ (typed in both upper and lower case, depending on preference) means “for sure.” It can be used to express agreement or emphasize something. For example, you might use ‘FS’ to say say you’re ‘absolutely’ going out tonight or simply as a response to something you strongly agree with.

Much more common with Facebook, ‘FS’ can also stand for ‘for sale,’ which indicates that an item on Marketplace has not yet been sold.

Here are some examples of how you might use ‘FS’ in a sentence:

• “I have to cancel plans tonight, but I’ll get drinks with you tomorrow fs.”
• “Did you see the way Tom looked at Harriet? They’re fs dating.”
• “He’s fs wrong. Don’t listen to him.”

Now that you know everything there is to know, you’ll probably catch yourself using ‘FS’ in a sentence soon enough… and it’ll become instinctive.