Slang meaning
What does opp mean?
Opp is short for “opposition” or “opponent”: an enemy, a rival or someone who's against you. It comes from drill and rap, where the opps are rival gangs, but online it's mostly a joke word for haters, rival teams and anyone getting in your way.
Updated 6 October 2026
An enemy, rival or hater, from “opposition”; usually said as “the opps,” and often as a joke.
What opp can mean
1. A real enemy or rival
The original sense. In drill music and street slang, opps are members of a rival group, and talking about them points to a genuine conflict. Lyrics and posts that taunt the opps belong to this world, where the word is bound up with real violence rather than banter.
2. A hater, as a joke
Online, most uses are playful. The opps are whoever might be rooting against you: people who watch your Story but never react, the rival school, the friend who supports the other team, a little brother who ate your leftovers. “Opp behaviour” covers small betrayals, like liking your friend's ex's new post.
3. Other opps: sales, police and maths
In sales teams an opp is an opportunity, a potential deal tracked in a CRM: “three opps closing this month.” In Canada, OPP is the Ontario Provincial Police. And in school trigonometry, opp labels the side opposite an angle, as in sine equals opp over hyp.
How people use it on Instagram and Facebook
Story captions and Notes
Lines like “the opps are watching” or “opps stay mad” are aimed at a vague audience of rivals and exes. Usually it's playful bravado over a good photo or a win. Instagram shows you who viewed your Story, which feeds a lot of jokes about opps checking in.
Sport and school rivalries
Fans call the rival club, school or town the opps, especially around derbies and finals. “Opps in shambles” after a win is gloating of the friendly kind, about as serious as wearing your team's shirt to work on match day.
Group chats
Friends brand each other opps over tiny betrayals: spoiling a show, taking someone else's side, beating them at a game. “You're an opp now” is a mock accusation, usually followed by a laughing emoji and forgiveness within the hour.
Drill pages and real disputes
In drill music and the accounts around it, opps are real rivals, and posts naming or taunting them can inflame disputes offline. That's a different register from the jokey use, and it's the reason the word worries some parents.
opp in real conversations
- Story replynew haircut. the opps are not readythe opps are obsessed, actually
- Direct messageyou told her the ending?? opp behaviourit slipped out 😭 i'm sorry
- Instagram comment3-0 at home, opps real quiet todaysee you at the return leg
- Text messagemy little brother ate my leftover pizza. he's an opp nowlock the fridge
- Facebook commentMy son keeps calling the kids from the next school over “opps.” Should I be worried?Usually it just means rivals, like at football. Worth asking him what he means by it though.
How to reply to opp
Where it comes from
Opp is a clipping of “opposition” from African American slang. It became widespread through Chicago drill music in the early 2010s, where rappers used it for rival gangs, then travelled with drill to London, New York and beyond. Social media turned it into an everyday joke word for rivals and haters.
Questions people ask
What does “the opps are watching” mean?
It's a boast. Posting a good photo, a win or a glow-up, people imagine their rivals and exes looking on jealously. Usually there are no real opps involved; the imagined audience is the joke.
Should parents worry when kids talk about opps?
Usually not. Most kids use it for rival teams, siblings and friends who spoil TV shows. Take it seriously if it comes with names of real groups, threats, talk of weapons or a sudden fear of certain places. Then a calm conversation, and if needed a word with the school, is worth it.
What's the difference between an opp and a hater?
A hater criticises you, often from a distance. An opp is on the other side: a rival, an enemy, someone in competition with you. Online the two blur, but opp has a stronger sense of sides, which is why it fits teams, schools and exes.
Is opp the same as OP?
No, and the extra P matters. OP is the original poster of a thread, or something overpowered in a game. Opp is someone against you. “The OP is right” agrees with the person who posted; “the opp is right” would be a strange thing to admit.
Related slang
- OPUsually “original poster,” whoever started a post or thread; in gaming it's “overpowered,” and in anime an opening song.
- capCap is slang for a lie or exaggeration: “that's cap” means “I don't believe it,” and “no cap” means “honestly.”
- no cap“No lie” or “I'm serious”: added to show a statement is true, not an exaggeration.
- saltySalty means bitter or irritated, often over a small loss or slight, and usually said with a smirk.
- cloutClout is influence or online status, and “for clout” means doing something mainly to get attention.
- ratioRatio means replies are beating likes on a post, a public sign that people dislike it; “ratioed” is the result.
More slang meanings
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