Meanings
tl;dr1
alternative tldr · alternative tl/dr · alternative tl dr · alternative TLDR · alternative TL;DR · alternative TL/DR · alternative TLDNR · alternative TL/DNR · alternative TL-DNR
- Initialism of too long; didn't read (or sometimes too long; don't read).
- InternetUsed to introduce a short summary of an overly long text.
How I got to be an atheist is a fairly long and winding story, so I'll give you the "tl;dr" version—I was finally honest about myself that "the gods" just "weren't there."
2016, Jeffrey Flagg, “The Care and Feeding of Your Atheist Pagan”, in John Halstead, editor, Godless Paganism: Voices of Non-theistic Pagans, [Morrisville, N.C.]: Lulu.com, →ISBN, part 10 (Looking Forward: Non-theistic Pagan Community), page 3511 more example
Incidentally, my absolutely favourite headline about the Duchess of Sussex's new coat of arms was: "Will Meghan Markle's new California-inspired coat of arms convince millennials to embrace traditional heraldry?" Tl;dr, no!
2018 May 30, Hadley Freeman, “The meaning of beige tights: they show what the Windsors will do to Meghan”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 Oct 2021
plural tl;drs · plural tl;dr's · alternative tldr · alternative tl/dr · alternative tl dr · alternative TLDR · alternative TL;DR · alternative TL/DR · alternative TLDNR · alternative TL/DNR · alternative TL-DNR
- InternetA summary; the gist, the long and short.
I know that was quite a long ramble, but the TL;DR is that I got fired.
Synonyms: abridgment, abstract, bottom line, compendium, conspectus, digest, epitome, outline
present singular third person tl;dr's · participle present tl;dr'ing · participle past tl;dr'ed · past tl;dr'ed · participle past tl;dr'd · past tl;dr'd · alternative tldr · alternative tl/dr · alternative tl dr · alternative TLDR · alternative TL;DR · alternative TL/DR · alternative TLDNR · alternative TL/DNR · alternative TL-DNR
- InternettransitiveTo provide a short summary of (a text, an event, etc.); to summarize.
Fortunately, Sutton Stracke soon emerged from her bedroom to tell her friends that she had, in fact, read the entire story. Kyle [Richards] instantly begged her friend to TL;DR the "in-depth exposé," which she deemed "so friggin' long."
2021 August 20, Amy Kaufman, “‘Ted Lasso’ wrote a love letter to romantic comedies. We break down ‘rom-communism’ [Catch up]”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Jun 20242 more examples
Extracts or overviews should be substituted as needed. But insofar as possible, the whole books should be read. First of all, because many thinkers simply cannot be tl;dr'd. Second of all, because wrestling with, and immersing yourself in, and just reading through whole books is part of the education.
2014 June 17, Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry, “Here’s How to Teach the Liberal Arts to High Schoolers”, in Forbes, New York, N.Y.: Forbes, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 14 Jun 2024I'll tell you another thing that's ironic about the Vidal–Buckley [i.e., Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr.] debates. Those debates can be TLDR'd into one of them calling the other "queer" as a pejorative and then the other calls the other a "fascist."
2021 June 30, Makena Kelly, quoting Hasan Piker, “Hasan Piker on the Problem with YouTube Debate Culture: ‘Personally, I Think All of This is Just Bullshit’”, in The Verge, archived from the original on 25 Feb 2024 - InternetintransitiveTo provide a short summary of a text, an event, etc.; to summarize.
Royal Bank of Canada’s economics team have tl;dr'd why JGBs and the yen have had a fun morning: "it will be hard for markets not to see this move as a precursor for tightening policy".
2022 December 20, Louis Ashworth, “Turning Japanese?: One last rug pull before retirement”, in Financial Times, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 09 Feb 20231 more example
Some highlights of the lowlights: "A dismal mess," says the New York Times. Its "shabby aesthetic and narrative shortcomings are outweighed by its more drastically questionable moral ones," says the Guardian. "It's not a good movie," Entertainment Weekly TL;DRs.
2018 June 16, Peter Kafka, “MoviePass Invested in ‘Gotti,’ the New John Travolta Mob Movie Everyone Hates”, in Vox, archived from the original on 02 Dec 2023
TL;DR2
- Alternative letter-case form of tl;dr.
present singular third person TL;DRs · participle present TL;DRing · participle past TL;DRed · past TL;DRed · participle past TL;DR'd · past TL;DR'd
- Alternative letter-case form of tl;dr.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA summary; the gist, the long and short.
Origin
The phrase is an initialism of too long; didn't read (or sometimes too long; don't read). The noun and verb are derived from the phrase.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch tl;hng
- tl;hnginitialism of too long; didn’t read
Esperanto tl;nl
- tl;nlinitialism of too long; didn’t read
Finnish lp;el
- lp;elinitialism of too long; didn’t read
French tl;nlp, TLDR
- tl;nlpinitialism of too long; didn’t read
- TLDRinitialism of too long; didn’t read
- gépaluinitialism of too long; didn’t read
- trolonpaluinitialism of too long; didn’t read
German zl;ng
- zl;nginitialism of too long; didn’t read
Hebrew אמ;לק
- אמ;לקinitialism of too long; didn’t read
Italian tal;nhl
- tal;nhlinitialism of too long; didn’t read
Polish zd;nc
- zd;ncinitialism of too long; didn’t read
Russian см;нч
- см;нч (sm;nč)initialism of too long; didn’t read
Spanish mt;nl
- mt;nlinitialism of too long; didn’t read
Ukrainian зд;нч
- зд;нч (zd;nč)initialism of too long; didn’t read
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with tl;dr
All rhymes →Cite this entry
tl;dr. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tl%3Bdr
“tl;dr.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tl%3Bdr. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tl;dr,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tl%3Bdr.
Source: tl;dr on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.