What Does OOMF Mean?

OOMF stands for "One Of My Followers" or "One Of My Friends."

At first glance, this acronym almost suggests some kind of noise you'd make if you bumped into something, landed after jumping or falling, or used your strength to push something. That might be true in everyday, face-to-face language, but on Twitter, it's a different story.

What OOMF Means

OOMF refers to a user who's following you on the social network Twitter without revealing their identity. If used on a social network other than Twitter, like Facebook, for example, it refers to a user who's added you as a friend.

In other words, OOMF is a reference to someone who has you in their network (and perhaps they in yours) — but without any specification to exactly whom.

How OOMF Is Used

On Twitter, OOMF is used to subtweet a follower. A subtweet or "subliminal" tweet is basically a tweet that mentions someone without stating their full name or @username specifically to avoid being obvious about who you're talking about.

OOMF might be used directly in a sentence or it might simply accompany a tweet in the form of a hashtag (#OOMF). In any case, it helps you stay under the radar among all, some, or a specific one of your followers. Depending on your intentions and perhaps the way you craft your tweet, you could use OOMF with a hope that the subtweeted does or doesn't figure out you're talking about them.

OOMF offers Twitter users a way to indulge in a little gossip or drama without causing too much trouble or embarrassing themselves too badly. This might help them blow off some steam or share their real feelings in a discreet way.

Examples of OOMF in Use

Example 1

Twitter user: "OOMF is about to get blocked if they don't stop harassing me about my views on veganism"

This first example shows how OOMF can be used to subtweet someone as part of a threat. In this case, they might not want to reveal the identity of the follower to avoid further conflict, but they might also want them to get the message in an indirect way.

Example 2

Twitter user: "Everything happens for a reason. If it was meant to be, it will be... #love #crush #oomf"

In this second example, OOMF is used as a hashtag separately from the main content of the tweet. This Twitter user makes a couple vague statements that are difficult to make sense of without more information. The OOMF hashtag suggests that they're expressing their feelings about one of their followers and probably doesn't want them to find out that it's them.

Example 3

Twitter user: "Which OOMF wants a free invite to this new music app I'm in on? DM me."

This final example shows how OOMF can be used in a totally different way that doesn't involve subtweeting a follower. This Twitter user is simply asking a question and decides to use OOMF to address all of their followers.

If You Decide to Use OOMF on Twitter (Or Anywhere)

Just know that there's no guarantee that your followers will take the hint that you either are or aren't talking about them.

If you use OOMF in a way that you want the subtweeted user to find out you're talking about them, they might not get it. Likewise, if you use OOMF in a way that you don't want the subtweeted to find out you're talking about them, they might still be able to figure it out somehow.

So use OOMF with caution. You never know how messages on the internet can be interpreted by others.