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Guide to Gen Z Sexting Slang for Sex & Dating

By: Melissa Miller , December 2, 2024

It’s completely normal for generations to have different slang. You don’t hear “groovy” thrown around too often, and with the ever-evolving lexicons slang for sex changes too.

But, Gen Z slang is perpetually in hyperdrive, fueled by the virality of TikTok and reaching people of all generations. No matter what your age, you’re likely to be scrolling through your Instagram Explore Page and TikTok For You page at a loss for what these seemingly random words and phrases mean.

“What is clapping cheeks?” or “what is seggs?” are questions plenty of people have had to ask themselves. There’s no reason to live in the dark or be out of touch, especially with sexting slang. Keep reading to learn the newest sext slang to use on apps, over text, or in the DMs.

The most popular Gen Z sexting slang you’ll see

According to Date2Love, 63% of teens use sexting slang to flirt or appear funny, so the words live well outside text bubbles and the DMs. They’re used everywhere – in everyday conversation out loud to social media captions and messages in Instagram’s “Vanish Mode.”

To be good at using Gen Z sex slang, you’d have “rizz.” Short for charisma, rizz is having game, being charismatic, and being smooth. How you use all the words and phrases and Gen Z slang for sex you learn below is indicative of how much rizz you have.

While rizz is new, other words have always been around, but the younger generation has run with it like “thirsty” or “smash.” Smash is one of the many words that we’ll go through below that means to have sex.

Thirsty is being a little desperate for sexual attention or horny. Millennials used to often use it by saying, “The thirst is real” which is an observation to indicate someone is being really desperate for someone or horny for something. Thirst has even crossed over into non-sexual conversations when people are thirsty for objects or even experiences, like “he’s was acting so thirsty for that new BMW.”

Millennial slang vs. Gen Z slang for sex

Texting wasn’t even popular until the late 1990s and early 2000s. Some millennials didn’t even grow up with cell phones, although they established a lot of the early sex slang being used over text or concepts around pursuing sex like “sliding into the DMs,” which is starting a flirty conversation in the direct messages of a social app. The main difference between millennials and Gen Z using sexting is millennials largely learned it and created it in practice – pursuing sex or flirting. Media outlets of the digital era like Vice wrote about these things like how to sext. Gen Z was exposed to a lot of it through media and social media apps, rather than figuring it out in practice. As mentioned above, because Gen Z sext slang is used in so many places besides sexting, some of it is born from restrictions on the apps it’s used on. For example, seggs is just sex, but it’s spelled differently because it won’t be reported or flagged as inappropriate content on apps like TikTok. This and their default to posting everything online carries over into their online dating, so it starts to feel like everyone is speaking the same language, one of Gen Z slang for sex.

Terms and slang for having sex

These are slang terms for sex, specifically. Before getting into words to describe flirting or other parts of dating, the below are about the main event.

Seggs

This simply is a phonetic (sort of) spelling for sex. As mentioned above, it was largely to avoid restrictions or being reported on apps.

Smash

Smash is a verb. To smash is to have sex. It’s typically used in future or past tense – tryna smash, want to smash, ‘bout to smash or smashed, as in “he smashed.”

Clapping cheeks

Clapping cheeks also refers to having sex, but originates specifically from the slapping sound made during sex, most specifically, ass cheeks.

Sneaky link

As a noun, sneaky link refers to someone you’re secretly having sex with. As a verb, it refers to the encounter or having sex on the low, a link up between two people to have sex without anyone knowing.

Corn

Similar to how seggs was introduced as a way to get around being reported or flagged on certain social platforms, corn is just another word people use for porn. It’s almost exclusively used for publicly referring to porn and less as sexting slang.

With the basics of new slang terms for sex, it’s time to learn some others specifically for being a little flirty when texting and talking on the apps.

Sexting slang for teasing and flirting

Here are some Gen Z slang words you can use when you’re flirting and warming up to sexting and sex.

Snack

Saying someone looks like a snack means they’re a hottie or they look tasty – yum! It’s meant as a compliment. You’d say something like, “You were looking like a snack the other night.”

Thirsty

As mentioned above, thirsty is used to describe someone who is overly eager, desperate, or excessively forward in their pursuit of attention, affection or sex.

Jo

Jo is shorthand for jerking off.

YWS

YWS is shorthand for you want sex and is commonly used in a very casual and direct way to suggest interest in sexual activity.

Sloppy toppy

An elongated version of “top,” sloppy toppy refers to oral sex performed on a penis with a lot of saliva.

Ate/8

Saying someone ate means they did something exceptionally well, with style, or just absolutely nailed it. It’s often used as praise or to celebrate someone.

BNG

Birthed in the world of sex work, BNG is an acronym for blow ‘n go or a quickie blow job.

Noods

Noods is simply an alternative spelling for nudes, or sexy, barely clothed pics you send to someone over text or DM.

Spicy

Spicy is an adjective to describe something or someone that’s being sexually suggestive, sassy or naughty.

RUH

RUH is an acronym for are you horny, but the “are” and “you” have been reduced to the letters R and U.

GYAT

Originally used as short for the exclamation “goddamn” as it phonetically sounds like the beginning of it. However, in the last couple of years, it’s also been used to describe a hot woman, particularly a thick one or one with a big juicy ass.

Spicy eggplant

A spicy eggplant is another phrase for vibrator. It originates from the eggplant emojis being representative of a dick and spicy describing the vibration.

Edging

Edging is the practice of engaging in sexual stimulation to the point just prior to climax and then pausing before starting again.

DTF

DTF is an acronym for down to fuck and it means someone is ready and willing for sex.

Spicy chat

Spicy chat is the Gen Z version of a NSFW conversation. It’s sexually explicit in nature.

But, it’s not just phrases. Gen Z uses emojis a lot in sexting slang too.

Sexy emojis to use instead of slang terms for sex

Whether it’s out of convenience, to add fun into your sexting or you’re attempting to be less literal, emojis are great to mix things up a bit. Although there isn’t an obvious emoji for sex, a study from sexual wellness brand LELO says 76% of people use emojis for sexting. Here’s how.

✊🏼🍆: The fist emoji combined with the eggplant emoji represents masturbation, jerking off or a handjob.
👉🏼👌🏼: This combo is penetrative sex, the finger represents the penis and the other represents the vagina.
🥜: Peanut emojis represent nutting or cumming.
🍝: A bowl of spaghetti or noodles represents nudes (also known as noods).
8️⃣: This is the emoji or shortened version of “ate” from above.
🧱: Brick emojis mean hard, as in a man is aroused or has a boner.

Find someone to enjoy sexting and spicy chats with

Whether you’re Gen Z, sleeping with someone who is or simply trying to introduce new, fun slang for sex into your flirting, dating app use, and sex life, it’s always fun to stay up on new things in the world of sex. Log on to Instabang.com to find someone to keep it spicy with.