What Does ALR Mean? [In Texting, On TikTok, and More]

Honestly, the internet seems to change slang so often that it mostly feels like a losing battle trying to keep up. But sometimes, curiosity gets the better of us, and it can almost be a relief to finally find out what a word means. Maybe you’ve got Gen Zers in your family too, and you’d like to know just what they’re going on about. If you’ve run across the term “ALR” in your journeys across the internet (probably on TikTok), we’re here to fill you in on the meaning behind it.

What Does “ALR” Mean?

Compared to slang like “Gyatt”, “ATP”, and “wyll”, “ALR” is actually sort of simple. The most common meaning for this phrase is “alright”. That’s right, it’s basically just an abbreviation of this one word. Rarely, “ALR” can mean “a little respect”, but, by and large, the most popular usage is as a stand-in for alright. Currently, the tag has several million uses on TikTok, so it’s safe to say it’s pretty trendy.

Perhaps surprisingly, people use the tag a lot to refer to a specific online personality and YouTube star: Amberlynn Reid. While you’ll often find her doing the rounds on TikTok as well, the plus-size model surged to stardom on YouTube, originally by uploading vlogs and mostly centered around her daily life and mukbang videos (where digital creators eat substantial quantities of food on camera for their audience).

Where Did “ALR” Come From?

We’re not entirely sure where the term “ALR” originated from, although it’s likely to have originated on TikTok as far as its most common usage is concerned. Alternative uses may well have started somewhere else, like Instagram or Twitter. As far as Amberlynn Reid goes, she doesn’t really tend to use the acronym herself. Unfortunately, it’s mostly used by troll accounts to poke fun at her in a pretty toxic way. It goes without saying that we don’t endorse this.

How to Use “ALR”

Most of the time, people use “ALR” in pretty much any situation where “alright” is appropriate, usually to confirm that everything is fine or as an informal greeting. In this way, you can think of it as a substitute for “aight”, “ight”, or “ite.” For example:

• “Everything’s ALR.”
• “All ALR over here.”
• “Hey, you ALR?”

If you intend to use it to mean “a little respect”, you could say something like:

• “Give them ALR, they deserve that.’
• “All I’m asking for is ALR.”

Strangely, you’ll often see “ALR” on TikTok where nobody is explicitly using the term. This is probably because most TikTokers create content with the goal of getting on the “For You” page or increasing the viewership of their videos. Therefore, whenever a hashtag becomes viral, creators like to use it in the hopes that it’ll boost their content.

More Internet Slang

We’d be here all day if we wanted to list every single example of modern online slang. But here are a few that you’ll see around frequently:

• Receipts: If you’ve got a receipt for a purchase, you have proof. And that’s exactly what this term means. However, it’s predominantly used online to refer to photos, videos, or messages that are evidence of some drama or scandal occurring.
• Cheugy: Whenever someone looks like they’re trying too hard to be cool and doing it rather awkwardly, a Gen Zer may refer to them as “Cheugy.”
• PFP: “Profile Picture.” This could be used when complimenting someone’s new profile picture, discussing their own, or asking for opinions on it.
• Slay: Sort of like a substitute for “killing it”, “slay” is used as a celebratory exclamation whenever someone pulls off something particularly well. This could be a makeup look, an outfit, or a general achievement. While “slay” is very popular with youngsters these days, its origins are from LGBTQ+ Black and Hispanic communities during the 1970s and 80s.
• BMS: This stands for “Broke My Scale”. Rather than referring to someone’s weight, this is actually talking about physical appearance and attraction. If someone finds another person particularly attractive, they’ve broken the scale because their appeal is off the charts.
• POV: Meaning “Point of View”. This is mostly used in videos where the creator wants to share a relatable scenario, usually with an amusing undertone.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Josie Elias/Shutterstock.com.