Entry · catalog no. 0193
trippin’
/ ˈtrɪpɪn /TRIH-pin
verb · AAVE · 20th c.
✓ Verified
1.
To overreact, behave irrationally, or be unreasonably upset; to act disconnected from the situation.
“Why you trippin’? I already said I’d pay you back.”
Origin & Attribution
Extended from “trip” (a disorienting drug experience) in mid-20th-century Black vernacular into any behavior that seems detached from reality — later broadened to mean overreacting.
mid-1900s
“trip” — a disorienting experience
late 20th c.
“trippin’” = acting irrational
now
Everyday for overreacting
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
Nationwide / diaspora
AAVE · 20th c.
Spoken by
Black speakers nationwide
$TRIPPIThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Steady40 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
60/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
1955
in the culture
Recorded here
2024
point of first record
Mainstream crossover
1995
search interest spikes
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@auntiereg
Atlanta, GA
@deltasoul
Memphis, TN
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