What is ring slang?

Ring slang has several completely different meanings depending on context, so the definition changes by community. In home security, Ring slang refers to the informal language Ring doorbell and camera owners use in the Ring Neighbors app, such as porched, meaning a package was left on the porch, or ghost alert, meaning motion was detected with no person visible. In telecommunications and old phone culture, to give someone a ring simply means to call them. In British and Australian slang, ring can mean to call someone, as in give us a ring tomorrow. In boxing and wrestling, ring slang or ring lingo refers to the insider jargon used by fighters, trainers, and promoters, like jobber, kayfabe, shoot, and work. In LGBTQ+ and drag culture, particularly in the UK, ring can be slang for the anus, and related phrases appear in Polari. In criminal slang, a ring refers to an organized group working together, like a theft ring, drug ring, or car ring. Most recently, on TikTok and among Gen Z, ring is sometimes used as a verb meaning to be caught or exposed, similar to alarm bells ringing. Context is essential to understand which meaning is intended.

The phrase ring slang has several completely different meanings depending on the context where you hear it. In the world of home security, Ring slang is the informal vocabulary that Ring doorbell and camera owners have developed on the Ring Neighbors app and neighborhood Facebook groups. Examples include getting porched for a package delivery, ghost alert for a motion notification with no visible person, and driving for doing a slow drive-by to check cameras. In British, Australian, and general telephone slang, to give someone a ring means to give them a phone call. In combat sports like boxing and professional wrestling, ring slang or carny talk refers to insider terms like jobber, mark, work, shoot, kayfabe, and bump. In UK Polari and some LGBTQ+ slang, ring is a crude term for the anus. In crime reporting, a ring means an organized group of people working together for illegal activity, such as a theft ring, smuggling ring, or fraud ring. On social media, particularly TikTok, to ring can mean to trigger alarm bells or expose someone. You have to look at the sentence around it to know which definition applies.