Editing Slang (section)

{{Short description|Vocabulary of an informal register}}
{{Other uses}}
{{redirect|Slanguage}}
{{pp-pc|small=yes}}
{{Use American English|date = February 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = February 2019}}

A '''slang''' is a [[vocabulary]] (words, [[phrase]]s, and [[usage (language)|linguistic usages]]) of an [[informal register]], common in [[Colloquialism|everyday conversation]] but avoided in formal writing and speech.<ref>{{cite dictionary |title=Slang definition |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/slang |access-date=September 19, 2021 |archive-date=March 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308172607/http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/slang |url-status=live }}</ref> It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of particular [[In-group and out-group|in-groups]] in order to establish [[group identity]], exclude outsiders, or both. The word itself came about in the 18th century and has been defined in multiple ways since its conception, with no single technical usage in linguistics.