No, it’s not a hotel.
Every generation has its own shorthand, expressed by words, phrases, abbreviations, or acronyms. GenX brought “gnarly” and “hella” into common usage. Millennials gave us “bae” and “fam.” Most boomers are probably ashamed about a time when they regularly said “groovy” and “right on.”
“Gyatt” (sometimes spelled “gyat”) is one of the cultural contributions of Gen Z, and its use has grown dramatically on TikTok and other young-skewing social media platforms.
What does it mean?
Defining “Gyatt”
The acronym “Gyatt” is widely believed to have originated in African-American and Jamaican circles, standing for “Girl, Your Ass Thicc” and used as a compliment. (“Thicc” is a common slang spelling of “Thick,” adapted from “thick-set” and referring to a full-figured body with a big butt accentuated by a curvy waist.)
Alternately, some linguists think the term evolved from “goddamn.”
The word may be new, but the sentiment certainly isn’t.GenXers, millennials, or boomers who remember Sir Mix-a-Lot’s 2012 song “Baby Got Back,” 1989’s “Big Ole Butt,” from LL Cool J, or “Fat Bottomed Girls” released by Queen in 1978 can testify to that.
Gyatt is most often used as slang to refer to attractive women, and is often expressed as “gyatt, goddamn.” It was first used in 2022 on platforms like Twitch by streamers YourRAGE and Kai Cenat; the former used it to describe attractive women, but the latter has said he used it simply as a substitute for “goddamn” or “golly.”
The word started to become commonly seen in TikTok posts the following year, both to describe women with big butts and as a more generic way of expressing approval, surprise, or admiration of virtually anything. Its usage took off on the app and in “real life” after the TikTok user ovp.9 posted a song parodying popular terms on the app like “gyatt,” “rizz,” and “Skibidi Toilet.”
(You’ll have to look up the other two yourself.)
How Do You Pronounce “Gyatt?”
If you aren’t familiar with the word, but for some reason want to add it to your vocabulary, the most common pronunciation is “gyacht” (all one syllable, with a hard “G” followed by the word “yacht”). You might also hear it pronounced with two syllables, Gee-yacht (hard “G”). If you say it that way, though, be prepared for kids looking at you like you’re like totally uncool, man.
About the Author
Peter Hasselworth is a contributor at iDigic, sharing valuable insights about Instagram growth and social media marketing strategies.