B-DAY

What Does B-day Mean?

The Quick Answer

B-day means "Birthday."

More Detail...

In informal digital communication like text messages or social media posts, the abbreviation "b-day" (or "B-day") is often used with the meaning "birthday." The word "birthday" is also often abbreviated as bday.

Image for B-day

When I write B-day, I mean this:

B-day is a contraction of "birthday."

Summary of Key Points

"Birthday" is, by far, the most common meaning for B-day when it is used in a text. (Bear in mind that it could have another meaning if used in a different context.)

B-day
Definition:	Birthday
Type:	Abbreviation
Guessability:	1: Easy to guess
Typical Users:	Adults and Teenagers

An Academic Look at B-day

B-day is a shortened version of the word "birthday," therefore it is a contraction. Contractions can be formed in a number of ways, including:

Omitting letters from the word (e.g., pct (percent), obv (obviously)).
Using letters from the start and end of the word (e.g., adds, Dr (Doctor)).
Using an apostrophe to replace a letter or letters (e.g., don't (do not), can't (cannot)).

For reasons of brevity in text-based conversations, contractions are rarely followed by periods/full stops and apostrophes are routinely omitted.