HWP

What Does HWP Mean in a Text?

The Growing Glossary of Dating Slang

If you're new to online dating, then I'm afraid there is whole new language with well over 250 terms for you to learn.

Particularly since the rise of the iKids, people have been far more open about their sexual preferences and desires, and this has generated a long glossary of new dating terms. Many sexual preferences are still abbreviated on dating sites, presumably with the idea that those who do not understand the term do not need to know it. That thinking does not help newcomers though. Here is the term you're looking for:

HWP means "Height Weight Proportional."

More Observations...

The abbreviation HWP is used on dating sites (e.g., Tinder, Zoosk and Match.com) as a way of describing a person's physique without actually giving body measurements. For example:

• 5 feet 4 inches. HWP.

• 6 feet 2 inches tall and HWP.

It is generally believed that the majority of users on dating sites who state they are HWP are usually at least slightly overweight. Dating sites are full of specialist abbreviations (see our list of dating terms), which have their roots in a time when personal ads featured in local newspapers and users were charged by the word. A term like HWP would incur a fee for just one word while still offering a fair amount of information. "Height Weight Proportional" would, of course, cost three times as much.

Image for HWP

When I write HWP, I mean this:

Very few people who describe themselves as HWP have the BMI scale in mind.

Summary of Key Points

Definition for HWP

HWP means "Height Weight Proportional." This is the most common definition for HWP in texting and on messaging apps, especially dating sites.

HWP
Definition:	Height Weight Proportional
Type:	Abbreviation
Guessability:	5: Extremely difficult to guess
Typical Users:	Adults and Teenagers

Examples of HWP in Sentences

Here's an example of HWP in conversation:

• Rob: Are you putting weight on?
• Jim: A little, maybe. But, I'm still HWP.
• Rob: Proportional to what? A sea lion?

An Academic Look at HWP

HWP is typically seen as an entry in a list of personal attributes. When used in a full sentence, HWP is mostly used as a predicative adjective (i.e., it appears after the thing it describes). However, occasionally it is used as an attributive adjective (i.e., it appears immediately before the thing it describes). For example:

• Janet is HWP.
(Here, HWP is describing Janet. It is a predicative adjective.)
• She is an HWP woman.
(Although much rarer, HWP can be used as an attributive adjective.)

Of note, HWP is an initialism abbreviation. This means it is pronounced using its individual letters (i.e., Aitch Dublyu Pee). (Initialisms contrast with acronyms, which are spoken like words.)

What Did We Say before Texting and Social Media?

Before the digital era, we would have just said something like "average build" instead of using HWP.

Example of HWP Used in a Text

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