Ack is an older internet slang term that was common during the 1990s and early 2000s. In this lesson, you will learn the definition and how to use this slang word with ESL infographic and useful conversation examples in English.
Table of Contents
Ack Meaning
What Does Ack Mean?
Ack is and abbreviation for “acknowledge“. Using Ack as slang was an easy way to reply to someone that you have seen their message without having to go into too much detail.
Origin
During the 1990s with restrictions on data and character usage, many words had to be shorted to not eat up the allotted space. Due to the word “acknowledge”taking up eleven characters, using “Ack” was quickly adopted in the business and computer science sectors. However, when data and character restrictions were lifted Ack saw a drop in popularity before seeing a brief surge in popularity in the early years of Twitter which had limited character usage. Once Twitter began to offer a larger character count, Ack once again dropped in popularity.
Other Meanings
Ack has seen use as an exclamation of surprise, be it positive or negative. The character Cathy from the newspaper comic of the same name would frequently exclaim “AACK”. Generally, most usage of the word Ack will be for exclamations of dismay or surprise and not the abbreviation of Acknowledge. Ack can also be used as abbreviation for Nantucket and the Nantucket airport. An “Ack Attack” is used as slang to express desire to go to Nantucket.
Conversations Examples
Email At Work
- Boss’s Email: Hello Stevens, wanted to make sure you got my last message about the Tobit Account. Let me know if you need it again.
- Steven’s Email: Ack.
- Boss’s Email: Thank you, Stevens, please get back to me once you have finished your report.
Text Between Coworkers
- Dave: Hey, Becky, it’s Dave from work. Did you submit the report?
- Dave: Important I get a response A.S.A.P. If it wasn’t filed today I need you to get it first thing Monday.
- Becky: Sorry, I was in the shower. Yes, I filed it before I left today. Check your email, I should have sent a message to everyone.
- Dave: Ack. Thank you. Have a great weekend 🙂
Other Ways to Say the Slang Word
Ack can be spelled all lowercase to be ack or all uppercase to be ACK. However, ACK is normally reserved for exclamations of dismay or disgust. Ack, as an abbreviation of Acknowledge, is typically just used with an upper-case A.
Ack Meaning Infographic
