{"id":8664,"date":"2022-10-10T17:54:59","date_gmt":"2022-10-10T17:54:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=8664"},"modified":"2022-10-10T17:54:59","modified_gmt":"2022-10-10T17:54:59","slug":"afk-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/afk-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"AFK \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Did someone type <strong><em>\u2018AFK\u2019<\/em><\/strong> in the chat while you\u2019re playing Call of Duty online? This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this acronym.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p>The acronym <em>\u2018AFK\u2019<\/em> <u>stands for<\/u> <em>\u2018Away from Keyboard.\u2019<\/em> It\u2019s a <u>common phrase in the gaming community,<\/u> meaning you\u2019re <u>stepping away from the keyboard for a temporary leave of absence.<\/u><\/p>\n<p>If gamers are going to return to their post shortly, they\u2019ll usually tag \u2018<em>brb<\/em>\u2019 (<em>be right back<\/em>) after \u2018<em>AFK<\/em>\u2019 to let their <u>teammates know they\u2019ll be back soon<\/u>. If you type <em>\u2018AFK\u2019<\/em> into the chat, <u>you\u2019re unavailable,<\/u> and the team will have to manage without you in your absence.<\/p>\n<p>While <em>\u2018AFK\u2019<\/em> is gaming slang, it\u2019s found its way into the general English vernacular. Many people will use <em>\u2018AFK\u2019<\/em> to <u>describe how they\u2019re not at work or near their work computer.<\/u><\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cOkay, boys, I\u2019m AFK. I have to go and pick up my kids from school. I\u2019ll get back to you later. Do me a favor and win the tournament for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know what happened to Jim. He\u2019s been AFK for the last few hours, and we need him in this next game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re leaving the game, let everyone know and type \u2018AFK\u2019 in the chat. If you just leave without doing anything, people will assume you\u2019re still playing and include you in the conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m going to step out for a few hours. I\u2019ll be back later. I\u2019m AFK, so leave me out of the next few games.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no way he\u2019s still AFK. Somethings going on here. I bet he\u2019s logged onto another user name and trying to game the system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI need to hit the bathroom, guys. I\u2019m going AFK for a bit. Don\u2019t worry. I\u2019ll be back in time for the next game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy do you always go AFK when we need you the most? You\u2019re the weakest link in the team. We\u2019re going to have to let you go if you don\u2019t improve your performance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m AFK. I\u2019ll return to gameplay at 2pm. You can get in touch with me through DM if you need me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8666\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AFK.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"194\" height=\"145\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-8667\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AFK2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"163\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The acronym \u2018AFK\u2019 originates from the gaming fraternity. Gamers across the world communicate in chat when playing games online. The chat is the guiding force holding team-play games together, allowing for effective communication between team members.<\/p>\n<p>Online and LAN gaming took off in the 1990s, with the first MMO multi-player online games appearing towards the end of the 1990s. Terms like \u2018brb\u2019 and \u2018AFK\u2019 became part of the gaming vernacular, along with many other abbreviations.<\/p>\n<p>Language experts are unsure if \u2018AFK\u2019 developed in the gaming community or online chatrooms. However, the general consensus is that gaming brought the term into mainstream use.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"AFK Meaning\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vDw7TznOBZo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to AFK<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>BRB.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to AFK<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>In-game.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>AFK.<\/li>\n<li>Away From Keyboard.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say AFK Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>\u2018AFK\u2019 only has use in the online gaming community. If you\u2019re leaving your keyboard for a drink of water or using the bathroom, you\u2019ll type AFK in the chat, not the full version \u2018Away From Keyboard.\u2019 You wouldn\u2019t use it at work in emails and other corporate communications to describe how you\u2019re away from your post.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase AFK<\/h2>\n<p>You can use the acronym \u2018AFK\u2019 if you\u2019re a gamer. Typically, gamers will type the abbreviation into the chat to let other people in the game know they aren\u2019t available. Unlike \u2018BRB,\u2019 there is no set time frame for your return to the keyboard after typing \u2018AFK\u2019 in the chat. You could return to the game in a few minutes or the next day.<\/p>\n<p>The phrase is only suitable for gaming chats and has no other use. However, considering there are hundreds of millions of gamers, it\u2019s a valid reference and part of the English lexicon. You can use \u2018AFK\u2019 when playing any online game. You can type AFK in upper or lower case characters, and it retains the same meaning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Did someone type \u2018AFK\u2019 in the chat while you\u2019re playing Call of Duty online? This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this acronym. Meaning The acronym \u2018AFK\u2019 stands for \u2018Away from Keyboard.\u2019 It\u2019s a common phrase in the gaming community, meaning you\u2019re stepping away from the keyboard for a temporary leave of absence. If [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8664"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8664"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8669,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8664\/revisions\/8669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}