Slang dictionary
amirite
or am i rite [am-ahy-rahyt]
黑料网 does听amirite mean?
Amirite is an internet slang spelling of the rhetorical tag question am I right?听Amirite is often sarcastic in tone,听amirite?
Where does amirite come from?
Amirite draws on a history of deliberate misspellings, see听1337 or leetspeak, and convenient shorthands (e.g., c u l8r).听In this way,听amirite hits a few internet slang beats. It lowercases capital letters (i for I) and spells听right as rite, both saving keystrokes. It also eliminates spaces, making amirite resemble the way speakers say听am I right听in casual speech, a chummy tag question used to invite agreement or more softly assert your correctness.
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We can find the spaced-out听am i rite听on an internet Usenet group as early as 1990 as a friendly and familiar way to get verification and feedback.听By 1998, we can find the space-less amirite that became popular in the early 2000s (entered on Urban Dictionary as amirite in 2004, am i rite in 2003) with the rise of the internet in everyday life.
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By 2005, amirite began taking on a sarcastic, knowing tone. Rather than simply seeking confirmation, amirite tagged the end of a statement as a way to emphasize perceived truthfulness (e.g., Politicians are all crooks, amirite?). This use imitates am I right in speech: This is the best burrito you’ve ever had. Am I right or am I right?
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In 2012, the website Amirite launched. There, people post various opinions and users will vote if they agree鈥攊f the poster is right. The opinions are often silly or absurd, such as Sometimes stuff doesn’t make any sense or听Do you know any baboons personally?
Examples of amirite
Who uses amirite?
Amirite is popular in text messages, on forums, and on social media鈥攁nd not only among English-speaking users, as听amirite can be found among, say, Russians internet users as well.
You’ll find amirite at the end of a statement.
Though amirite comes in the form of a question, it has the effect of making a declaration. It can be used for sarcasm and irony …
But but but Canadians are tragically under-taxed amirite?
— Aaron Wudrick (@awudrick)
… as well as to get agreement and understanding (e.g.,听you know what we’re saying, right?) with a familiar audience, often when making a humorous observation.
Washing your hair & shaving all in one shower is such a workout amirite ladies???
— Emma Villegas (@EmmyBear0)
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of amirite like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of amirite that will help our users expand their word mastery.