“Opps” means opponents or enemies. People use it to talk about rivals, haters, or anyone they’re in conflict with — real or exaggerated.
You Probably Saw It Somewhere Weird
Here’s the thing. Most people don’t google a slang word because they’re curious. They google it because they saw it in a comment or a caption and something felt off. Maybe someone replied “opps mad” under a post and you thought it was a typo. Maybe a friend texted “the opps are watching” and you weren’t sure if they were joking or not.
That confusion makes sense. The word sounds almost identical to “oops” — like someone hit the wrong key. But they’re completely unrelated. Different meaning, different origin, different energy entirely.
The Feeling Behind the Word
“Opps” isn’t just a cooler way to say enemies. It comes with an attitude. When someone says it, there’s usually a mix of awareness and calm — like they already know who’s against them and they’re not rattled by it.
It also signals that the speaker isn’t going to name names or get too specific. “The opps” keeps things vague on purpose. It’s a way of acknowledging conflict without fully diving into it.
That’s partly why it caught on so hard. It’s efficient. One word does the work of a whole explanation.
Where It Started
It grew out of Chicago’s drill rap scene in the early 2010s. Artists used it to talk about genuine street rivalries, and it spread fast because the word had a rhythm to it — short, punchy, easy to drop in a lyric or a caption.
From rap, it moved into social media. From social media, it moved into everyday group chats. At this point, most people using it have never been anywhere near the context it came from. And that’s fine — language travels. But it’s worth knowing where it started, especially if you plan to use it yourself.
How the Meaning Stretches Depending on Who’s Talking
This is the part most explanations skip, and it’s actually the most useful thing to understand.
In its original context, calling someone an opp was serious. It meant genuine opposition — people you couldn’t trust, people who were actively working against you. That weight is still there in certain conversations.
But in everyday social media use, it’s stretched way out. Someone might call their annoying coworker their opp. Someone might caption a gym selfie with “training while opps sleep” and mean absolutely nothing threatening by it — it’s just motivational flavor. A TikTok creator might call their comment section haters their opps for laughs.
The word didn’t change. The situations using it just kept expanding.
When It’s Playful
You’ll recognize playful usage because it’s usually attached to something low-stakes. Bad weather, a slow wifi connection, an ex from two years ago. The tone is light and the “conflict” is obviously not real danger.
When It’s Serious
Serious usage tends to be less public. Someone venting to a friend, not performing for an audience. The phrasing is more direct and less theatrical.
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Situations Where You Should Leave This Word Out
Professional settings — yes, even casual ones. Slack messages, work emails, LinkedIn comments. None of these are the place.
Conversations with people who might not know the slang. If there’s any chance someone takes it literally when you meant it as a joke, it’s not worth the awkwardness.
Public call-outs. Posting “opps quiet lately” after winning some internet argument might feel satisfying for about four minutes. Then it just makes you look like you’re still thinking about something you claimed not to care about.
What It Sounds Like in Actual Messages
“Pulled up to the event and immediately spotted the opps. Said nothing. Kept moving.”
“My opps are literally my best advertisement at this point.”
“Why is one of my opps in this comment section being supportive? Suspicious.”
“New phone, same me, zero opps in the contacts.”
“Bro they really sent the opps to this hangout” — sent as a joke about a friend bringing someone awkward along
“Training harder than my opps resting” — gym caption, zero real conflict involved
“The opps been quiet. Something’s coming.” — dramatic, mostly joking
The Versions You Probably Didn’t Know About
Most people know the slang. Fewer people know about the other two.
In professional wrestling, AEW (All Elite Wrestling) has a faction literally called “The Opps.” It’s a group of heel wrestlers — meaning they play the villain role — and the name is a direct borrow from the slang. For wrestling fans who also grew up with this language, it’s a fun crossover. For anyone outside both worlds, it comes out of nowhere.
In healthcare and medical billing, OPPS stands for Outpatient Prospective Payment System. It’s a Medicare payment structure for hospital outpatient care — nothing to do with enemies or rivals. If you’re in a medical billing role and someone mentions OPPS, they’re talking about insurance codes and reimbursement rates, not street slang. The all-caps version is usually the giveaway.
What Gets Misread Most Often
People assume the word always signals real danger or aggression. It doesn’t, not anymore. The slang has softened a lot as it spread into mainstream use.
People also assume using it casually is always fine because they’ve seen it everywhere. That’s where the mistakes happen. Casual to you might land very differently to the person reading it, depending on their background and what that word has meant in their own life.
The other common misread is thinking “opp” and “opps” are the same thing. “Opp” is singular — one specific person. “Opps” is the group. Small difference, but it changes the sentence.
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FAQs
Can calling someone an “opp” start real problems?
Yes, if you say it directly to someone or about someone in a serious tone. It’s essentially accusing them of being against you. That’s not nothing.
Is it the same as calling someone a hater?
Close, but not quite. A hater just dislikes you. An opp is more active — someone who’s actually opposing you or working against you in some way. The stakes feel higher with “opp.”
Why do people mention their opps so much if they don’t care about them?
That’s the paradox of the word, honestly. Saying you don’t care about your opps while also referencing them constantly is its own kind of performance. People notice that contradiction — and sometimes that’s exactly the point.
Does it mean the same thing across different countries?
The slang is mostly rooted in American culture, specifically hip-hop. People in the UK, Australia, and other English-speaking countries use it too, but the connotation can shift slightly depending on local slang culture.
One Last Thing
Words like this are useful because they pack a lot of meaning into very little space. But that efficiency only works when both people understand what’s being said and how it’s being said. Drop it in the wrong room and it’s just noise — or worse, trouble.
Once you know the range it covers, from completely serious to fully ironic, you’ll stop second-guessing it every time it shows up.
Hi, I’m the creator of Legacystance.com, dedicated to making English learning simple and enjoyable. I write clear, practical guides on adjectives, verbs, idioms, pronunciation, spelling, and more. Every article is carefully researched to give accurate, easy-to-understand information. My goal is to help readers improve their English skills confidently, one step at a time, with content that is trustworthy, useful, and beginner-friendly.
