What Does GTS Mean In Texting? (Answered!)

GTS usually means “go to sleep” in texting. It’s something you would say to someone late at night either to indicate the conversation is over, or that it’s too late to talk. It can be friendly and jokey or it could be a bit more forceful. It can also mean “good times” or “goody two shoes”.

GTS has quite a specific meaning and use, then, in general.

Though it does have other meanings, these are not as common as “go to sleep”.

If someone says this to you, especially late at night or just if you’re very tired, then they are telling you to go to sleep.

Let’s find out more.

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What does GTS stand for in texting?

GTS typically means “go to sleep” in texting.

As in, it is a command, one person telling another to go to sleep.

There might be any number of contexts in which this phrase would be used, and any number of different tones in which it is intended to be taken.

The most common, though, is probably just a simple, gentle recommendation. “Anyway, it’s late, we should GTS” for example. It’s a way of ending a conversation when you both know you are both tired.

On the other hand, it might be something someone says to you when they know you need some rest. “You’re up early tomorrow, GTS!” for example.

It’s forceful, but playful, not meant to be taken as genuinely scolding, but nonetheless a serious recommendation.

Still, further, it could be something someone just says of themselves. “I’m bushed, I’m going to GTS, I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” for example.

It can be used both as something you say to someone and just as something you say about yourself.

Finally, it might be someone just trying to subtly bring a conversation to a close. “Well, it’s been great talking, I’m thinking I might GTS soon,” for example.

It’s a polite way of bringing the texting to an end without just going to sleep and leaving it.

So, even in that one meaning, it can have a few different senses—and there are other things it can mean entirely.

Where does GTS come from?

It’s not clear where or when exactly this phrase originated.

What is clear, though, is that it was well in common use by the early 2000s, both in texting and on the internet.

So, it probably originated sometime in the 1990s, when mobile phones first became widely available.

At that time, all mobile phones featured alphanumeric, as opposed to QWERTY keyboards that smartphones feature today.

That meant that typing out anything was a much longer and more tedious process. Thus, people at that time were happy to use just about any abbreviation that everyone understood.

The origin of GTS is probably as simple as that.

People texting each other late into the night, particularly young people, was a common thing right away—so they needed a shorthand way to end the conversation and go to bed!

When exactly it arose, though, is not clear.

But it started in texting and quickly spread to online forums and chatrooms.

How do you respond to GTS?

How best to respond to GTS depends on the context, naturally. If you know the person well enough to have a good sense of what tone they intended, then respond appropriately.

They may have meant it as jokey and not serious, not really berating you into going to bed.

In most cases, you can just respond by saying “Okay, goodnight!” really.

There’s no need for anything more than that.

But there are many subtly different ways in which this can be used, so try and consider carefully which one you think it would be.

Respond accordingly!

What does GTS mean on social media?

On social media, GTS generally means the same thing—go to sleep.

But given this is quite a direct meaning, others are more common on social media, too. “Going through sh**” is a common one, for someone to add to the end of a post. It means they’re having a rough time in one way or another.

Other than that, it can also mean “google that stuff”—meaning stop asking all these questions that you could just look up on Google!

What else can it mean?

What else does GTS mean?

There are a couple of other things that it can mean. In texting it might also mean “gone to smoke”, meaning someone is telling you that they’ve stepped out to smoke.

It can also mean “good times”, indicating someone is having fun or enjoying themselves somewhere.

It could also be a way of reminiscing.

“Goody two shoes” is sometimes the intended meaning of the initialism.

This means someone who is excessively innocent and pure, and has never done a thing wrong in their life.

This term is not as used as it once was, though.

So, there are a variety of things that this could possibly mean, but none of these usages are anywhere near as common as just “go to sleep.”

If someone says GTS then, it may be time to go to bed.

They could be just gently nudging you towards getting some sleep since it’s so late.

They could also be trying to politely end the conversation so that they, too, can go to sleep. It might mean a couple of other things, but these meanings are a lot less common.

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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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