What Does CBA Mean In Texting? (Revealed!)

CBA means “can’t be arsed” in texting. This means you don’t want to do something simply because you can’t be bothered. It’s a very common and ubiquitous slang phrase which is used widely in texting and on social media. “Do you want to come out tonight?” “No, I CBA,” for example.

This is a very commonly used slang phrase as it expresses a very simple and common idea.

There are always times when we don’t want to do something after promising we would, or even just if we are asked.

That’s what CBA is for.

Let’s find out more.

In This Article

What does CBA stand for in texting?

CBA most commonly stands for “can’t be arsed” in texting.

In other words, the person is saying they cannot be bothered to do something, they can’t find the energy and they don’t want to do it.

They’d rather do nothing, stay in bed, play video games, and that sort of thing.

If someone tells you they CBA, then they may have flaked on your plans.

“Are you still coming to see the movie tonight?” “No, sorry, I CBA tonight,” for example.

To be “arsed” to do something just means to be bothered to do it.

It can be used in a wide variety of contexts, but they all basically relate to putting in some amount of effort to do something.

“I’ll get round to fixing that lamp when I can be arsed,” for example. It’s just about having to find the energy to do something.

So, as you can expect, there are a wide variety of contexts where this can be used in texting.

Most commonly, as I said, you’ll hear it from people who don’t want to come out anymore, whether they originally agreed to or not.

It’s obviously slightly vulgar, so you should reserve this for use among friends.

It’s not something you should say to your boss when they ask you to do something!

This phrase tends to be used a lot more in the U.K. than anywhere else.

It isn’t a particularly common American slang term, although it’s equally far from unheard of in the U.S.

You’ll hear it in Australia, too. In the U.S., you might be more likely to hear it only as “CBA,” since the U.S. doesn’t really use the term “arse”.

Where does this term come from, then?

Where does CBA come from in texting?

The truth is we are not completely sure where this phrase comes from.

It’s plainly quite an old one, and has been in use in texting since at least the early 2000s.

The phrase “I can’t be arsed” certainly long predates that in spoken English, though, depending again on where you are in the world.

Funnily enough, our earliest recorded example of this comes from a Paul McCartney quote in a biography of the Beatles from 1968.

Obviously, at this time, it wasn’t abbreviated, though. In the 1990s, when mobile phones were first taking hold, everyone was typing things out tediously on an alphanumeric keyboard.

Early texting was a hotbed for abbreviation slang, then. CBA arose very naturally out of this, since this is a common sentiment to express.

From there, it spread quickly to the internet and social media culture, where it has taken hold ever since.

But can it mean anything else on social media?

What does CBA mean on social media?

In general, CBA also means “I can’t be arsed” on social media.

It has the same meaning although it can be used in a slightly different sense when posting than when talking to someone directly.

But it should still be clear that it means “can’t be arsed” given the context. “CBA with school today,” for example.

This isn’t looking for a response, as such, it’s just a statement.

Other than that, CBA doesn’t really mean anything else on social media.

How do you respond to CBA?

Naturally, this depends a lot on the way it’s said and the context.

Often, it won’t really require a response at all.

One of the most common ways that someone will say this directly to you is if they are telling you they don’t want to come out or don’t want to go to plans they made with you anymore.

In this case, if you wanted, you could respond by trying to convince them to still come out.

Otherwise, if you’re not all that bothered, you could just respond by acknowledging what they said.

“Fair enough,” for example. It’s really not a big deal in that sense.

Does it have any other meanings?

What else does CBA mean?

While they aren’t likely to come up except in very specific circumstances, there are other things that CBA can mean.

They have a few business-oriented meanings, such as “cost benefit analysis.”

But I would presume you don’t spend much time texting your friends about that!

It is also the acronym for the Continental Basketball Association, the Canadian Bar Association, and the College of Business Administration.

But you can probably rest assured your friend isn’t talking about any of these!

So, this may be the last thing you want to hear if you’re trying to convince your friend to come out or do something.

But the truth is we don’t always want to go out or do things—sometimes it’s best to just do nothing!

That’s all this phrase expresses, and as you can see it’s been in use for a long time around the internet and 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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