Well if you do not, you can now look it up in the dictionary. Yes if you look on MSN Encarta the definition of LOL is now there. It is an abbreviation for ‘laughing out loud’ that is used in e-mail messages. Frightening!

Has this abbreviation become so commonly used in e-mail messages that it has earned its own dictionary entry? Now this brings up a very interesting thought for me, being the mother of an 8 year old son who is currently immersed in learning the English language at school. I am not sure how I would react if such abbreviations suddenly starting appearing in his everyday writing. I know people commonly use this abbreviation because I have received emails from people who inject the abbreviation (and others) into their sentences. Here are just a few of them that I have seen.

LOL - Laughing Out Loud
Cuz/coz - Because
B4 - Before
U - You

These have become so commonly used when writing online that I am just waiting for the day that people start using them offline. It is at that point that we may need to start teaching our children when and where such abbreviations are appropriate. In any case, I stumbled across an interesting article entitled Does IM Make You Dum? Check it out because it gives an interesting take on these online abbreviations and how they are being used.