What Does Wgat Mean In Texting? (Find Out!)

Wgat in texting usually is an initialism meaning “who gives a toss?” This is a British expression which essentially means “Who cares?” It has spread all over the world though and is very common as a slang expression meaning who cares. It can also be a deliberate misspelling of “what”.

Wgat is perhaps not the most common text abbreviation, then, so you’d be forgiven for not knowing what it meant off the top of your head!

Most commonly it is used as a simple way of saying “who cares”, though it can definitely have other meanings.

Let’s find out more.

In This Article

What does wgat stand for in texting?

Wgat tends to stand for “who gives a toss” when used in texting.

It is a way of saying “who cares” in a bit of a more forceful or more playful way.

If you say “wgat” in response to something, you’re saying you don’t care, and you’re illustrating that by asking who else would possibly care.

“James and Anna aren’t going out anymore! OMG!” “Wgat?” for example.

The second person doesn’t care about this gossip.

It’s bit forceful, as I’ve said, and how exactly it comes across is going to be a bit different depending on the context.

As I said, it’s much better understood in the UK since this is a phrase which is used all the time even in speech.

Everyone implicitly understands the sense of the term, and knows that it isn’t necessarily meant in a mean way.

That said, it certainly can be mean. “I got an A on my report!” “Why are you telling me? Wgat?” for example.

If you say it about someone’s good news, then saying you don’t care is always going to be mean, no matter how you say it.

However, you’ll likely see this phrase quite a lot on social media, and you shouldn’t always assume that this is what it means.

Internet culture, or at least some parts of it, have made minor spelling errors a part of their aesthetic.

It is a way of seeming a bit more kooky and wacky, and indeed more detached and less serious.

You don’t worry about how you spell on text and social media—it’s not homework, after all!

This is the more likely meaning of “wgat” in broader contexts outside of texting.

It’s just a misspelling of the word “what”, whether the person did it deliberately or just left it in by accident.

Where did this come from, in either case?

Where did wgat come from?

The phrase “who gives a toss” is, as I say, an old British slang phrase that has been in use for quite a while.

Etymologically, it originally referred to the toss of a coin.

The idea was that you would say “who gives a toss” if something is not even important enough to be worth tossing a coin over.

This is where the phrase originally came from.

How it made its way into texting under this abbreviation is a mystery.

However, it’s also quite natural to see how this would arise.

Texting in the early days involved a laborious and tedious alphanumeric keyboard, and some form of “who cares” is very commonly used in speech—thus it was abbreviated for texting!

All that time, though, “wgat” has also been a deliberate and accidental typo.

It soon came to simply mean “what” in certain internet subcultures.

As I say, since H and G are next to each other on the keyboard, saying “wgat” instead of “what” is a very common mistake.

Many internet users took that to represent their own brand of detached posting.

Let’s look more into how it’s used on social media.

What does wgat mean on social media?

While in texting between two people, “wgat” is most likely an accidental typo or an abbreviation of “who gives a toss”, on social media it is much more likely to be a deliberate misspelling of “what”.

Social media has gone through many changes.

At first, text speech was not used so much on it—people saw being a bit more formal or at least coherent on it as a good thing.

Eventually, though, some parts of internet subculture, particularly young people on social media sites like Tumblr, saw it as a small act of rebellion to deliberately type and spell in a slightly incoherent way.

This has since spread to some degree to all corners of the internet.

There are people who refuse to spell and type properly for social media.

How do you use wgat?

So, if you were to use it to mean “who gives a toss,” again you’ve got to be careful who and where you’re using it. though it is based in the innocent act of tossing a coin, some people, especially the British, consider it to be a very rude phrase.

Only use it with your friends when you are jokingly saying you don’t care!

Other than that, you can use it as a humorous misspelling of “what”, particularly when you are surprised, for example.

So, wgat can have a couple of senses depending on the context, but as an abbreviation, it almost certainly means “who gives a toss?”

This is, as I’ve said, a very British expression which is not really used in speech outside of the UK.

However, through this nice little abbreviation, it has made its way into international slang if in a much smaller way than it is used in the UK!

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.

Was this article helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!