HBS Is the Latest TikTok Slang Term That Is Confusing Users Who Aren't in the Know

If you've been on TikTok for a couple of minutes in your life, you've likely realized that the platform is absolutely jam-packed with acronyms and slang terms that are basically indecipherable if you're not already aware of what they mean. This has been true since the earliest days of the platform, and it's meant that TikTok has essentially developed its own version of English.

One term that has been circulating on the platform in recent days is HBS. As more and more users see the term, many of them want to understand what it means. Here's what we know.

HBS is an acronym that is typically used to mean "homeboys," which is itself short for a group of male friends. Most people likely recognize homeboys, and HBS is apparently just a quicker way to type that word.

This acronym could show up inside of a video, or in the caption or comments under it. It's the kind of casual slang that plenty of regular people use when they're posting on the app.

HBS also has a counterpart, HGS, which is a shortening of "homegirls." That term refers to a group of female friends and is used the same way that HBS is across the app.

Both of these words have a history that dates back to decades before TikTok ever existed, but they have become popular on the platform in part because of the way they can be used as parlance between people who know what they mean.

It's worth noting, too, that not every HBS acronym on the platform might be using the slang the same way. Harvard Business School is one of several acronyms that might be referenced, but those uses are going to be rarer than the slang term. In those instances, though, the best way to figure out whether HBS is referring to "homeboys" is to check the context around the video or comment you're reading.

Although there are some TikTok slang terms that describe something genuinely new or unusual, most of the time, people on TikTok are just abbreviating a word that you already know. That's definitely the case with HBS, and while it might not be obvious what the term means, you can still get a vague understanding of what these users are trying to say in their videos.

Some slang terms come and go on TikTok along with specific trends, but HBS is one that seems likely to hang around, in part because it's based on a word that actually predates TikTok or even social media more generally. It might be used on TikTok, but it will also get used on other platforms and in text messages.

We don't know where the term came from originally. But what seems clear is that it's not going anywhere, so you should probably get used to reading it on TikTok and everywhere else.