Crashout / Crash Out

Submission 16,301

Part of a series on Internet Slang. [View Related Entries]

About

Crashout, also written Crash Out and in other tenses like Crashed Out and Crashing Out, is an AAVE slang term common on TikTok that defines a reckless individual who seeks altercations. Crashouts repeatedly jeopardize their body, life and future because they don't care about the consequences, implying that they're already broken. "Crash out" is also used as a verb to describe the outbursts. Crashouts are portrayed in videos and memes as unstable, often ruining events and activities with aggressive behavior. The slang term gained predominant usage in early 2024. It's said to originate from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, popularized by rappers from the area like NBA YoungBoy.

Origin

Per definitions on Urban Dictionary,^[1] "crash out" was first used in Baton Rouge, LA, and it derives from the term "crash dummy." Following this, the first rapper to use "crash out" in a viral song was Baton Rouge rapper NBA YoungBoy in his 2017 song "Stepped On"^[2] via the lyric "Crash out if I'm nervous."

Non-viral usage of the slang term dates back to 2013 on Twitter / X.^[3]^[4]^[5] Many of the early adopters were from the American south in places like Montgomery, AL, Memphis, TN and Houston, TX.

Spread

Usage of "crashout" became highly common on TikTok in the early 2020s. For instance, on October 15th, 2022, TikToker^[6] @mob_kaydo posted a video skit "how these young 🥷🏿 be ready to crashout," gaining over 153,200 plays and 13,600 likes in two years (shown below, left).

On December 18th, 2023, TikToker^[7] @peezyante posted a video in which he defined "crashout," receiving over 1.7 million plays and 77,600 likes in three months (shown below, right).

More skits about being a crashout surfaced on TikTok in early 2024, such as a video posted by TikToker^[8] @nappyheadaleexxx on March 5th, 2024, who used the phrase "D1 crashouts" in the caption of a video about fighting in school, earning over 5.1 million plays and 955,000 likes in a week (shown below, left).

Soon after, usage of "crashout" on TikTok started to gain criticism, evident in a video posted by TikToker^[9] @worstlyfe on March 9th, 2024, who classified it under "TikTok words losers use," gaining over 1.5 million plays and 248,800 likes in three days (shown below, right).

Similar criticism about the slang's usage spread on X, evident in a post from X^[10] user @ahysce on March 11th, 2024, who shared a TikTok comment section showing what he dubbed unnecessary usage of the term. @ahysce referenced the X Challenge phrasal template by captioning it, "Tiktok try not to ruin a word challenge [IMPOSSIBLE]," receiving over 8,500 likes in a day (shown below).