PWNED

What Does PWNED Mean in a Text?

Gaming Slang for Newbies

If you're new to gaming, then there is more to learn than just a game's moves and strategy. Gamers should also be familiar with gaming slang, which has around 200 terms in common usage, many of which are difficult for new players to guess. But, you should persevere. Understanding gaming jargon improves collaboration by helping gamers to convey complex strategies, emotions, and actions quickly. Here is the term you care about:

PWNED means "Owned or Truly Beaten."

More Observations...

PWNED is most commonly used in sport or gaming with the meaning "Owned or Truly Beaten" to indicate that a player has suffered or inflicted a humiliating defeat. The term PWNED almost certainly derives from the erroneous typing of OWNED. (The letters P and O are next to each other a standard keyboard.) PWNED is often typed as PWND, PWNT and, especially, PWN3D. (The number 3 is a common replacement for the letter E in cyber speak.)

Although most commonly used in relation to gaming (e.g., on Discord and other gaming related apps), PWNED is also often used to refer to sports. For example:

• I was on fire during tennis practice today. I totally PWNED the coach during the second set.

PWNED is also used in circumstances totally unrelated to sport or gaming. For example:

• That was a brilliant sales pitch! You totally PWNED them!

Image for PWNED

When I write PWNED, I mean this:

PWNED means "Owned."

Summary of Key Points

We have summarized the key points in the table below:

PWNED
Definition:	Owned or Truly Beaten
Type:	Internet Slang Term
Guessability:	4: Difficult to guess
Typical Users:	Adults and Teenagers

Examples of PWNED in Sentences

Here are examples of PWNED in conversations:

• Ollie: How did you get on with level 10 last night?
• Helen: Terrible! I was totally PWNED.

• Ivor: The Yankees were totally PWNED on Saturday.
• Jill: I can't argue with that.

• Jenny: I did 50 lengths of the pool tonight.
• Leanne: 50? I did 75! You've been PWNED!

An Academic Look at PWNED

PWNED is the past tense of "to own" (i.e., owned). "Pawned" and "poned" are the most popular pronunciations.

What Did We Say before Texting and Social Media?

Before the digital era, we might have said something like "dominated" or "soundly thrashed" instead of PWNED.

Example of PWNED Used in a Text

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