OMW
OMW means “on my way.” It tells someone you’ve left, or are about to, and you’re heading to them.
What OMW means
It’s pure logistics. Friends waiting at the restaurant, a ride outside, a meeting about to start: omw lets them know you’re coming. A close relative is OTW, “on the way.”
It’s also one of the most famous half-truths in texting. Everyone has sent “omw” while still looking for their shoes, and everyone has received one from a friend who is definitely still in the shower.
Examples
- “Omw, 10 mins.”
- “Leaving work now, omw!”
- “Ok omw (I have not left the house).”
Why your iPhone types “On my way!”
If you’ve ever typed “omw” on an iPhone and watched it turn into “On my way!”, that’s not autocorrect being clever. It’s a built-in text replacement that ships with the phone. You can delete it, or change what it expands to, under Settings › General › Keyboard › Text Replacement.
Where OMW came from
Nobody has pinned down a first use. OMW belongs to the family of texting shortcuts that took off with mobile phones, when typing on a number pad made every saved letter count.
Related terms
See more terms like this in our texting abbreviations guide.
Example sentence
Just parked, omw in!
Similar words
OTW, coming, leaving now
Notes
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