OK boomer

“OK boomer” is a sarcastic comeback that dismisses an opinion as out of touch, usually one coming from an older person. It’s a verbal eye-roll: you’re not going to argue, because you don’t think it’s worth it.

What “OK boomer” means

“Boomer” is short for baby boomer, the generation born between 1946 and 1964. Merriam-Webster defines “OK boomer” as a sarcastic way to dismiss someone’s opinion as out of touch or condescending. In practice it isn’t really about age anymore. Anyone lecturing younger people, complaining about “kids these days” or posting a very confident take on technology they don’t use can get an “ok boomer.”

Examples

• “Millennials just need to stop buying coffee and they could afford a house.” “OK boomer.”
• “My uncle said TikTok will rot my brain. OK boomer.”
• “Put the phone down and read a newspaper like we did.” “OK boomer.”

Where it came from

Merriam-Webster says the phrase emerged online in the mid-2010s and went viral in October 2019 on TikTok, in replies to a video of a middle-aged man criticizing young people. A remix song by Peter Kuli spread it further that month, and a New York Times article by Taylor Lorenz on October 29 brought it to a much wider audience.

Within days it reached a parliament. On November 4, 2019, New Zealand MP Chlöe Swarbrick, then 25, was heckled during a speech on climate change and fired back “OK, boomer” without breaking stride. In January 2020, US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts used the phrase in a hypothetical during oral arguments in an age-discrimination case.

Is “OK boomer” ageist?

Critics say yes. One radio host compared “boomer” to a slur, a claim Dictionary.com publicly pushed back on, and some writers saw it as casual acceptance of age discrimination. Supporters see it as a mild, jokey response to real frustrations, like climate change, that younger people feel older generations wave away. Merriam-Webster calls it generally mild mockery whose impact depends on who says it and how.

It spawned spin-offs, including “OK zoomer” aimed back at Gen Z.

Related terms

• Karen: an entitled, demanding woman.
• Cringe: embarrassing to watch.
• Chronically online: too steeped in internet culture.

See more terms like this in our internet slang dictionary.