LMAO: What does that mean? Easily explained

It is not so easy to guess what "LMAO" means, since each letter stands for an independent word. In addition, English terms are hidden behind the abbreviation. In this article we explain in a simple and understandable way what you mean by "LMAO".

What does LMAO mean?

LMAO has long been used in German and English chats . If you are wondering what this string of letters stands for, you will find answers and some background information here.

• "LMAO" hides the somewhat vulgar saying "Laughing my ass off" or "Laughing my ass off".
• In both cases the saying can be literally translated with "laugh my ass off". In a figurative sense, one could say: "I laugh myself broken / dead".
• So "LMAO" is mainly used to express that something is very funny, for example with fun pictures.
• This means that "LMAO" is used very similarly to "ROFL" and "LOL", whereby LMAO usually expresses an even stronger laugh than LOL.
• Especially in games, "LMAO" is sometimes used in a derogatory way, for example to make fun of a noob.
• Since each letter stands for a word, which results in an entire phrase, the abbreviation is a so-called acronym. For this reason, all letters are capitalized correctly in German-speaking countries, ie "LMAO" and not "Lmao". This spelling is also common on the Internet.

Mixed forms and increased forms of "LMAO"

Sometimes you will also see increases and mixed forms of the chat acronym "LMAO". Since chat language is constantly reinventing itself and new abbreviations appear quickly, you will find a small overview here without any claim to completeness:

• "LMFAO": "Laughing my fucking ass off" / "I laugh at my fucking ass"
• "LMAAAAAAO" or "LMAOOOOO": Abbreviations often repeat letters to further increase or emphasize the word.
• "ROFLMAO": This is a combination of "ROFL" and "LMAO", which also serves to increase "LMAO" to the extreme. It means something like "I roll on the floor and laugh at my ass".

If you want to learn more about typical abbreviations on the Internet, you should take a look at our overview of the most important chat abbreviations. But the so-called Leetspeak, which hides an alternative spelling, is at least as important. This is especially used by players.