If Someone Texted "OMB" and You Don't Know What It Means, Here's a Quick Breakdown

Over the past decade and a half, we've moved further away from talking to people on the phone. Instead, texting is the preferred method of communication. It's faster for some, and more conducive to being in control of our own time. Also, it's easier for the introverts who just don't like to talk.  

With written communication more common now, at least in the Millennial and younger demographic, there are a lot of abbreviations and acronyms that we would never say in real life. Some of those are easy to figure out what they mean, but others aren't as clear. What does "OMB" stand for? Let us explain. 

Abbreviations to phrases are weird because it's hard to narrow down where they initially came from. Also, who is the one who then decides it becomes a universally understood thing? For example, someone would have needed to type "LOL" for the first time instead of saying they were laughing out loud. That would have needed to become a thing so much that it became an understood acronym. 

Even from there, that evolved, and now it really just means, "I thought that was funny." And it's not like there's a memo that goes out into the world to explain it all either. So, we have to guess or ask, or research the internet and hope that someone else thought to ask. So, if you're also asking, "what does OMB stand for," you're not alone. 

Just like with any acronyms and abbreviations, there are a lot of different versions. For example, OMB also stands for Office of Management and Budget. What's that? It's a section of the U.S. government that helps the president prepare and control the annual budget. However, most likely, that's not the OMB that your friend is texting to you.

So, what else could OMB mean? In terms of general conversations that may be happening in text form, most often, OMB would mean "on my break." Someone could text this to reply to why they're not busy working and instead are on the internet. 

It could also be a response to let someone know that you don't have a whole lot of time to talk because you're on your break. 

It can be hard to keep up with all the changes that happen in pop culture phrases, acronyms, and abbreviations because everything moves so fast. More than 50 popular internet acronyms and 50 different texting acronyms are used across the internet and through texting, and that list is always ever-growing. 

We know the common ones like OMG (oh my gosh), BRB (be right back), AFK (away from keyboard), but there are a whole lot more than that. And unless you're always using them, looking them up isn't uncommon. Examples like JC (just checking), SEP (someone else's problem), KMN (kill me now), and WYWH (wish you were here) are just a small sampling of the ones that are common for people who use them, but not easily figured out by those who don't.