Have you ever seen the abbreviation NSFW anywhere? If you’re unfamiliar with the usage, you might be surprised to see what it means if you haven’t used it before. Unlike other abbreviations, this is not one that you can afford to get wrong.
NSFW = Not Safe For Work
Like many “slang-y” abbreviations, NSFW has a literal and a more figurative definition. It literally stands for not safe for work, but its usage is more nuanced than that.
NSFW is commonly found as a label for posts on social media and emails, or links to various websites, as those are most likely to contain material that is not safe for work or appropriate to open with children around.
This kind of content mainly includes that which is sexually explicit, but can also include content that has explicit cursing (the words that are bleeped out on network television) and nudity, as well as other similar material.
Sometimes, tags with NSFW (on websites such as Twitter and Tumblr) can help users filter out this explicit material if they don’t want to see it, or at least warn them before opening something so they know they should not open it in a professional setting.
Some companies can automatically filter out this material from their company Wi-Fi, and prevent their workers from seeing it while they are at work.
Unlike some other common abbreviations, NSFW is almost never used in spoken language. It may be said as not safe for work, but the abbreviation is almost only for writing and texting.
Examples of Uses
- I thought this video was really good, but it has some NSFW content so I decided to wait until you got home to show you.
- I wouldn’t recommend opening anything tagged NSFW while you’re at work in case your boss happens to walk by at that time.
- Just so you know, this picture is NSFW so make sure the kids are outside or something before you open it!
If something is not sexually explicit or does not contain swearing, you can say that it is safe for work, or SFW. However, if you do not specify that something is NSFW, the receiver of your message usually assumes that it is safe.
