What Does BBL Mean In Texting? (Answered!)

“BBL” stands for “be back later” in texting. It’s a quick way of letting someone know that you won’t be texting or replying for a while as you have to go somewhere or do something. It does have other meanings, but this is by far the most commonly used.

Depending on precisely where you are on social media or the internet, BBL could mean a couple of things.

However, overwhelmingly what is more likely is that it just means “be back later”. It’s not been around in usage for quite as long as some other terms, though.

Let’s find out more.

In This Article

What does BBL stand for in texting?

Most of the time, if you’re texting someone and they say “BBL”, this just means “be back later”.

It is a way of saying they will not be able to text you for a while now, but most likely that they will text you again when they can.

“Gotta go. BBL,” for example.

There are a lot of abbreviations like this in texting, mostly originating out of the simple fact that phones did not always have QWERTY keyboards.

Back in the early days of mobile phones and texting, letters would have to be input by multiple presses on a single key, depending on the letter.

So, abbreviations like “BBL” became natural to save time rather than typing it all out.

You might have also heard the common abbreviation “BRB”, and wondered what the point is of having both.

Well, they do convey different things. “BBL” typically means you’ll be gone for a while, could be the whole day, and could be shorter than that.

But either way, it won’t be quick. “BRB” on the other hand, meaning “be right back”, generally means you won’t be gone for very long.

So, you can see why both have arisen.

They both have separate meanings, while they might seem redundant if you don’t put too much thought into it.

This is its meaning in texting, but as I said, it can mean other things in different contexts.

More on that later—let’s look at where this abbreviation originated.

Where did BBL come from in texting?

Well, the short answer is that it most likely did not originate in texting at all.

While these abbreviations were incredibly useful shorthand to save you typing out the whole thing on a phone keyboard, they more often than not originated in internet contexts where users had keyboards anyway!

As far as we can tell, this was the case with BBL.

Chatrooms in the 90s in the internet were a hotbed for coining these sorts of terms, and BBL was well in use by 1998.

Further than that, we cannot really tell of its origin, but it was probably sometime in the earliest stages of widespread internet adoption.

Consumer mobile phones were starting to become popular and accessible around this same time, in the 1990s, so there was a lot of shared lingo between the two mediums.

Shorthand was always used on both formats, often as much as a way of having a sort of shared, exclusive language as much as anything else.

So, BBL is a very old internet abbreviation—what does it tend to mean on today’s social media?

What does BBL mean on social media?

Today, generally speaking, BBL still just means “be back later”.

The use of these kinds of terms, such as BBL and BRB, has changed a lot now, though.

Whereas, in the past, you had to be at your computer to talk to someone on social media, now, you’re always connected since you’ve always got your smartphone with you.

So, the need to tell someone you can’t reply for a while has massively diminished.

However, there are, of course, still plenty of contexts where you need to tell someone you can’t respond for a while. “BBL” on social media can have this function, though “BRB” is far more common, admittedly.

There is, though, one other meaning which the term BBL can have, and depending on where you are on the internet, you might want to be careful to make sure you understand the meaning!

What does BBL mean on TikTok?

There is a big trend on TikTok revolving around the term “BBL”, but it certainly doesn’t mean “be back later”.

Here, BBL is more often than not referring to the plastic surgery procedure known as the Brazilian butt lift.

This is precisely what it sounds like—a cosmetic procedure to “lift” your butt and make it larger.

In all likelihood, if you’re on social media, but specifically on TikTok, the phrase BBL is referring to this and is not saying they will be back later.

So, you definitely want to be careful with how you use this one!

To a degree, the very reason the older meaning of this term has been revived is because of the BBL trend.

Many wondering what “BBL” means in the context it is used on TikTok and other social medias have come across its older meaning and begun using it this way again.

So, while you’ll want to be slightly careful that you’ve not misunderstood the meaning of this abbreviation, generally you can safely assume it means “be back later”.

It’s a quick, snappy way of saying you’ll be gone for a while but you’ll be back to talk again later.

Such abbreviations are very common on the internet and in texting.

More in Texting Meanings

Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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