Online dating terms
The vocabulary specific to how dating apps and profiles actually work — bio shorthand, matching and messaging conventions, and the acronyms daters use to signal compatibility before a first message. If a term is really about app mechanics rather than a broader relationship behavior, it’s here.
420-friendly means a person uses cannabis, or is comfortable dating someone who does, stated openly as a profile compatibility signal.
"420" in a dating bio is cannabis-culture shorthand: the poster uses cannabis, or is at minimum comfortable around it.
Sending intermittent, low-effort signals of romantic interest (likes, brief texts) to keep someone engaged without committing to real dates.
BWC stands for "big white cock," a slang initialism used on dating and hookup apps to reference a white man's penis size as a stated preference.
A catfish is someone who creates a fake online identity, often using stolen photos, to deceive people into an online romantic relationship.
CD stands for cross-dresser, a dating-profile term for someone who wears clothing typically associated with another gender.
DDF stands for "Drug and Disease Free," a self-disclosure used in dating profiles to indicate no drug use and no known STIs.
E-dating means forming or pursuing a romantic relationship with someone mainly through internet communication rather than in-person contact.
GGG stands for "good, giving, and game," a standard for being an attentive, generous partner, coined by columnist Dan Savage.
GH stands for "glory hole," a hole in a wall or partition for anonymous sexual contact, common in gay/MSM hookup-app chat and profiles.
Catfishing's milder cousin: a real but heavily flattering version of yourself online, old photos, an inflated title, a rounded-up height. Coined by Hinge.
NFS on dating apps is genuinely ambiguous: usually "no funny stuff" (a boundary-setting signal), but also "not for sale" and app-specific senses.
Poly is shorthand for polyamorous/polyamory: openly maintaining more than one consensual romantic relationship at a time.
SFW stands for "Safe For Work," meaning content, photos, or messages appropriate for public or professional viewing, not sexually explicit.
A visible imbalance in style, confidence, or social ease between two partners, when one half of a couple is more put-together than the other.
Vanilla describes conventional sexual preferences or activity, without BDSM, kink, or fetish elements.