Bestie

Bestie (noun / slang)

Definition: Your go-to mate. The person you text first with gossip, drag along to things you don’t want to do alone, or bond with within thirty seconds in a pub toilet.

Pronunciation: /ˈbɛs.ti/ (bess-tee)

Where It Comes From: It kicked off as lazy texting shorthand in the late 90s and MSN Messenger days because typing out “best friend” took too long on old Nokia keypads.

Once Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok took over, people stopped using it just for their actual childhood friends and started slapping it on literally anyone they liked—including random people in the comments section.

How People Actually Use It: You use it in two completely different ways: dead seriously for your number one friend, or entirely casually with someone you barely know.

It’s in captions under holiday photos, shouted across the room when a mate buys you a drink, or used by girls who met five minutes ago in a queue for the ladies’ room and decided they’re soulmates. People also drop it in a sarcastic, meme-y way when someone does something completely unhinged online.

Examples in the Wild:

• “Heading into town with the bestie for a few drinks.”

  Translation: “Going out for a pint with my closest mate.”

• “Thanks for sorting that coffee, you’re an absolute bestie.”

  Translation: “Cheers for doing me a favour, I appreciate it.”

• “She lost her coat, made two new besties in the smoking area, and woke up with their numbers saved.”

  Translation: “She made instant friends with total strangers on a night out.”

Similar Slang: Mate, Ride-or-die, Day one, Pal, Chum, Number one