What does “thicc” mean?
“Thicc” describes someone with a curvy, full-figured body. Being “thicc” means you have an attractive, voluptuous body with a curvy waist and a big butt. The slang term was originally used to describe women’s bodies, but has evolved over the years to also include muscular men, fluffy pets, and pretty much anything chunky or plump. It's often used in a humorous, complimentary, or exaggerated way, but it can also be sexual. “Thicc” usually does not mean fat or chubby–it simply means the person is well-endowed in the butt and thigh area. In other words, they have a nice, round butt and shapely thighs. “Thicc” is a deliberate misspelling of the word “thick” and is pronounced the same way. The misspelling is meant to be a humorous way to emphasize it.
How to Use “Thicc”
Compliment your friend’s hot, curvy body with “thicc.” Generally, stick to using this term in a fun, complimentary way to flatter a platonic friend. You wouldn’t want to say this to a random person, even if you mean it as a compliment–it would be similar to walking up to a stranger and saying, “Hey, nice boobs!” or “Love your butt!” (which would be awkward and inappropriate). “Girl, you are looking thicc in that fitted dress–werk!” “Booty so thicc and that waist? Snatched! Wish I had a banging body like that.” “Dang, you’ve been hitting those squats at the gym–looking thicc as hell!”
Use “thicc” to humorously describe floofy pets or anything full-bodied. For example, if your friend posts a picture of their super fluffy cat on Insta, you could comment with “thicc” to crack up your friends. You can also use “thicc” to describe the bass in a song, a thick food or drink, fictional characters–thanks to meme culture, pretty much anything goes at this point. “Oh lawd, he comin’ – your cat is looking thicc today!” “When the DJ dropped that bass beat at the club – thicc af yall” “As you can see, I made the soup extra thicc tonight.”
Origin of “Thicc”
“Thicc” was first used by the Black community in the early 2000s. Young people in African American culture used “thicc” to compliment or describe a person (usually a woman) who was curvy and sexually attractive. The term quickly caught on in drag culture around this time, as well. Since then, “thicc” has continued to gain popularity in American pop culture thanks to successful full-figured celebrities (like Kim Kardashian) and the rise of body positivity.
“Thicc” in Pop Culture & Memes
“Thicc” got popular in the 2000s with the body positivity movement. In the early days of the internet, full-figured people decided to change the narrative after experiencing body shaming and bullying. Online communities came together to promote unapologetic body acceptance and body positivity, using hashtags like #loveyourbody and #allbodiesarebeautiful to express pride in their appearance. Celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Rhianna embraced the term “thicc” and helped to popularize it.
Memes about fictional characters being “thicc” began around 2015. There are countless memes that fit the bill out there, with some of the most notable featuring Bubble Bass from SpongeBob SquarePants, Super Mario Bros., Winnie the Pooh, and the Avengers villain Thanos. Any round-bottomed character was fair game! On October 22nd, 2015, the now-defunct Twitter account @miliondollameat shared a picture of Bubble Bass from Spongebob Squarepants, calling him "lowkey thicc." On April 26th, 2015, Youtuber Pyrocynical uploaded a video titled "Thicc Souls III" which contained footage of him playing Dark Souls III with a full-figured character. On January 8th, 2016, Twitter user @larcenous posted a picture of his head against a couch cushion that looked similar to the outline of a curvy woman's hips with the caption "my girl stupid thicc." The tweet received 21,500 likes and 12,400 retweets within six months.
Posts about chubby or furry pets being “thicc” soon followed. Most of these posts were meant to be harmless, cute captions attached to images of animals like Corgis with big, fluffy butts. That said, Monterey Bay Aquarium (@MontereyAq) received viral backlash after tweeting a picture of their plump sea otter Abby with the caption, “Abby is a thicc girl / What an absolute unit / She c h o n k / Look at the size of this lady /OH LAWD SHE COMIN.” People felt that using “thicc” was objectifying, supported harmful meme culture, and considered cultural appropriation since the term “thicc” developed in African-American culture.
Big booties and full figures have inspired countless songs. Arguably, the earliest instance was Sir Mix-a-Lot’s massive 1992 hit “Baby Got Back” that begins with the lyric “I like big butts and I cannot lie.” Destiny’s Child released their song “Bootylicious” in 2001, and many other artists have embraced having fuller figures over the years. Megan Thee Stallion’s 2020 song "Body" celebrates her curvy figure, and EDM artist Shygirl released a song entitled “Thicc” in 2023. The hip-hop project Gloss Up also released a song called “Thicc” in 2023.
Is “thicc” a compliment?
Yes, “thicc” is usually a positive comment praising a fuller figure. If you hear the term “thicc” in conversation, it’s probably being used in a positive and flattering way to describe someone’s attractive body. It’s rare to hear “thicc” being used in a negative way, although of course there will always be exceptions. That said, the person being described as "thicc" could potentially take offense or feel uncomfortable. For example, anyone who dislikes their curvy figure or sees it as a flaw probably won’t feel that it's a compliment. Some people believe that terms like “thicc” objectify women’s bodies and should be used with caution.
Does “thicc” have sexual connotations?
"Thicc" can definitely have sexual connotations, but not always. If you hear “thicc” being used to talk about how sexy someone’s curvy figure is, there are probably some sexual undertones there. The term has evolved so much over the years, though, and certainly isn’t sexual when being used to describe muscular bodies, fluffy pets, cartoon characters, and inanimate objects.
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