What does the abbreviation H/T stand for?
According to Dictionary and Urban Dictionary, the term H/T, also sometimes abbreviated without the diagonal slash in between, stand for hat tip or tip of the hat. This is a way that people on social media and in SMS text messaging recognize the original source of some meme, expression, image or idea. This slang term is commonly seen on forum sites like Reddit.
According to The Free Dictionary, the abbreviation HT can stand for much more than just hat tip. This term has many other alternate definitions. However, these definitions are less common and should therefore be used sparingly. If you do decide to use one of these alternate definitions, make sure that you provide the reader with the proper context so that they can infer the meaning that you are intending with HT. This should be standard practice with all acronyms that have more than one potential definition.
- High Temperature
- Heights (street type)
- Transmitter Height
- Hormone Therapy
- Hough Transform
- Horse Transport (WW I)
- Happy Thanksgiving
- Handi-Talkie (two way radio)
- Harriet Tubman
- Heat Treatment
- Holding Tank
- Holiday Truths (UK)
- High Templar (Starcraft unit)
- Haiti (ISO country code, top level domain)
- Hybrid Theory (Linkin Park album)
- Home Theater
- Hi There
- Hostile Territory
- Hague Tribunal
- Height of Target
- Hardtastic (gaming clan)
- Human Trafficking
- Holding Time
- Hypotropia At Distance (ophthalmology)
- Hattrick
- Human Torch (comic)
- Hand Timed (track and field)
- Heads-Tails (possible outcome for flipping a coin twice)
- Harris Teeter (grocery store)
- Hyper-Transport (AMD)
- Hostile Takeover (gaming)
- Heavy Terminal
- Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel)
- Hyperthyroidism
- Horizontal Tab
- High Tension Tank (electron microscopy)
- Highway Transport (trucking company)
- Highty-Tighty (Regimental Band of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets)
- Tritiated Hydrogen Gas
- Harm Touch (gaming)
- Home Teacher
- Hotan (China)
- Hypertext
- Highland Terrace (Elementary School; Shoreline School District)
- Height
- Harmonic Tuned
- High-Technology (1980s Cadillac engines)
- Hybrid Trunk
- Helicopter Training Squadron
- Heavy Trucks
- Hyperion Telecommunications, Inc.
- Hot Tub
- Hilly Terrain
- Hyperthreading
- Hyperterminal
- Heat Transfer
- Holland Tunnel (Jersey City / Lower Manhattan)
- Hide Turtle (Hyper Logo Turtle graphics command)
- Hand Tucked (wire rope splice)
- Hydroxytryptamine (serotonin)
- Hors Taxes (French: Excluding Taxes)
- Hashimoto Thyroiditis
- Hybrid Tea (type of rose)
- Home Teaching (LDS church)
- Hypertropia at Distance (ophthalmology; opposite of hypotropia)
- Heat (real estate)
- Hand Talk (Radio)
- Human Transporter (Segway LLC)
- Heavy Timber
- Halt Typing (terminal command)
- Hrvatski Telekom (Croatian Telecom)
- Hyper-Threading
- (USN Rating) Hull Maintenance Technician
- Histology Technician
- Hired Transport
- Halo Trust
- Hanshin Tigers (Japanese professional baseball team)
- Hydrothermally Treated
- Heat Treated
- Heat Therapy
- Hetian (China)
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- High Tech
- Hammer Throw
- Hamilton Tigercats
- Hizb al-Tahrir (Islamist political party)
- Hordes of the Things (TV show)
- Hardtail (bike suspension)
- Hypothermally Treated (EPA)
- Half-Tone
- Hosting Talk
- Halotracks (Halo gaming clan)
- Hot Truck (Cornell University)
- Hovedstadens Trafikselskab (Danish for the Capital’s Traffic Organisation (Bus System))
- Hindutsan Times
- High Tensile
- Herding Tested
- Head Tilt (stretching exercise)
- Handheld Transceiver (walkie-talkie)
- Hydro-Test
- Humanoid Typhoon (Anime title Trigun)
- High Tension (as in electric power transmission)
- Hoc Tempore (Latin: At This Time)
- High Threshold
- Hot Topic (clothing retailer)
- Hirohiigo Togashi (gaming)
What is the origin of the term H/T?
According to Merriam-Webster, the term h/t is used to refer to the antiquated sign of respect, tipping one’s hat. This was seen as a gesture of civility. Perhaps the first person to use this was cartoonist Jimmy Hatlo, who was known for what was called giving a “Tip of the Hatlo Hat” to the readers of his who contributed ideas to his comics. This was his way of showing appreciation as his comics ran from 1929 to 1963. This is the earliest evidence we have seen for the phrase a tip of the hat. In the 1980s, this term was used to refer to an homage, especially when a musician’s performance of a certain song was a reference to the person best known for it. This can also be used as a synonym for a shout out, an appreciation, or a thanks.
The exact abbreviation H/T likely originated on a social media website like Twitter or Reddit. It probably originated on Twitter because Twitter has a character limit of very few characters. Therefore, saving many characters in the phrase hat tip is very useful. Using H/T or HT is much shorter than using the full phrase “I tip my hat to you” or or ther shows of appreciation.
What are synonyms for the term H/T?
There are many different words that can be used in place of the abbreviation H/T. These are called synonyms, which are words and phrases that mean the same thing as another word or phrase. It is useful to know synonyms for abbreviations because they are not always appropriate to use, especially in more formal or professional situations. It is also useful to know synonyms if you are trying to avoid repeating yourself as well as if you are trying to expand your vocabulary. This list of synonyms for the acronym H/T is provided by Word Hippo.
- notice
- bays
- points
- praise
- admiration
- glory
- credit
- approval
- commendation
- respect
- attention
- stroke
- eulogium
- laurels
- kudos
- thanks
- bouquets
- extolment
- veneration
- honor
- merit
- acclaim
- acknowledgement
- props
- appreciation
- brownie points
- laud
- adulation
- homage
- distinction
- tribute
- sun
- accolade
- approbation
- regard
- recognition
- esteem
- fame
- applause
- gratitude
- laudation
- pat on the back
Overall, the abbreviation H/T, or HT most often stand for hat tip. This is a trending internet slang term that is used as a way of recognizing the original source of some meme, expression, image or idea.
Sources:
Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.
