OK boomer
Etymology
A dismissive reply pairing “OK” with boomer (baby boomer, someone born roughly 1946–1964). It existed earlier but exploded in late 2019, spreading on TikTok as a Gen Z retort to attitudes felt to be condescending or out of touch.
interjection · /oh-KAY BOO-mur/
A dismissive retort used to wave off an attitude seen as out-of-touch, condescending, or generationally dated.
What it names
It names a refusal to argue rather than an argument: a way of signaling that a view is too disconnected from present reality to be worth engaging. Its power is in the shrug, not the rebuttal.
Example
“Kids today just don’t want to work.” “OK boomer.”
Related idea
Unlike a genuine rebuttal, “OK boomer” declines the argument — it signals that the speaker considers the other view too out-of-touch to engage.