What Does 'SMH' Mean? The Internet Slang Term Explained

We've all been there: you post what you think is a well-thought-out comment on a key topic, but as you're ready to bask in the flood of likes headed your way, someone pops in your mentions and hits you with "I can't believe you posted this, smh." Suddenly, your day is ruined. How could your incredible post get so easily dismissed? And what does SMH mean anyway? While we can't explain why your post was laughed off by the anonymous commenter we just made up, we can explain to you what SMH means: it's an acronym for "Shaking My Head."

Where Does "SMH" Come From?

While we can't know exactly when "smh" came into being, we do know that a definition for the acronym was first posted to Urban Dictionary in 2004. On February 14th, 2004, user trickologist defined the term as "something so stupid, no words can do it justice."

Over the following years, the term expanded to include variations with implied curse words, such as "smdh" and "smfh." It was added to the Online Slang Dictionary in 2012 and had a brief period where it was confused with the phrase "so much hate," but as of 2022, it is widely understood that "smh" means "shaking my head."

Usage In Memes

As we outlined in our hypothetical above, "SMH" is most commonly used as a way to dismiss a person or opinion as being too stupid for words. Sometimes you'll see people employ "smh" against themselves, but usually, it's meant to underline that something is frankly too dumb to comment on. For example, you might see it used in sentences like "You think Dr. Mario is better than regular Mario in Super Smash Brothers Ultimate? SMH", or, "I can't believe Elon Musk actually paid $44 billion for Twitter smh."

Where Can You Use "SMH"?

So, now you've finally gotten a grasp of what "SMH" means and you're ready to use it in the wild. How do you go about this? Well, the good news is you can use it basically anywhere, like texts, social media posts, and group chats. In terms of an actual sentence, it's best to employ it at the beginning or at the end of a sentence describing something you find inane. For more advanced texters, it is possible to employ it in the middle of a sentence as one might an emdash, i.e. "Can't believe we have to come into work on a Saturday smh don't these people know about the 40-hour work week?"

Examples

• “Can't believe Christine is still employed at the Oppenheimer group SMH."
• "SMH, The Nets really thought they could do something with Ben Simmons."
• “You actually think Sonic games are good smh have you played one in 30 years?"

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For the full history of SMH, be sure to check out our entry on the slang term here for even more information.