BAMF

What Does BAMF Mean in a Text?

The Quick Answer

The abbreviation BAMF refers to someone considered mean and hard.

More Detail...

BAMF is often used with grudging admiration by young men when referring to someone they would either like the approval of or would very much like to avoid. In popular fiction, BAMFs would include most of the lead characters in films directed by Quentin Tarantino. In the series Breaking Bad, Walter White was not a BAMF. However, when adopting the clandestine pseudonym "Heisenberg," he thought of himself as one.

Image for BAMF

When I write BAMF, I mean this:

Walter White was not a BAMF, but Heisenberg was.

Summary of Key Points

We have summarized the key points in the table below:

BAMF
Definition:	Bad Ass Mother F*cker
Type:	Acronym
Guessability:	3: Guessable
Typical Users:	Adults and Teenagers

Examples of BAMF in Sentences

Here are examples of BAMF in conversations:

Tom: Whose you favourite BAMF?
Debbie: Me. Get your feet off the couch, punk!

Dmitri: He does judo, wrestles and rides horses without wearing a shirt.
Misha: Yes, our president is one BAMF.

An Academic Look at BAMF

BAMF is an acronym (i.e., an abbreviation spoken like a word). Acronyms differ from initialism abbreviations, which are pronounced using their individual letters.

What Did We Say before Texting and Social Media?

Before the digital era, we would have said something like "Bad Ass," "Mean Dude," or even just "Bad Ass Mother F*cker," instead of using the abbreviation BAMF.