Definition: leetspeak

A form of geek spelling, in which letters are substituted with the digit that looks most like them. For example, E is "3" and A is "4." The word leetspeak is "13375p34k." Also called "hakspeak," leetspeak was first used to fool spam filters, text scanning and search systems. The word "d00d" is leet for "dood" to emphasize the "oo" sound in "dude." Likewise, "newbie" is shortened to "noob" and "n00b."

Leetspeak is Not an Acronym
Coined from "elite speak," leetspeak is not "digispeak" or "geekspeak," which refer to acronyms such as IMHO for "in my humble opinion." See digispeak and algospeak.




N3rd Street in Philadelphia