How to Use The TikTok Phrase "Band for Band”

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Boast about your bank account with this popular slang
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Going band for band means comparing two things, often money. The term got popular on TikTok and spawned a lot of similar terms. It feels like new words are coming out of that app every second. If you’ve been feeling out of the loop, you’re in luck. In this article, we tell you everything you need to know about the meaning of “band for band,” including how to use it, the meaning of ‘m for m,’ and related terms.

What does "band for band" mean?

Going "band for band" means to compare money by the thousands. A band represents a thousand dollars. The definition has evolved over time and can also be used to compare any two things (not just money). You usually offer to go band for band if you want to prove that something you have is better than what someone else has.

Section 1 of 4:

Band for Band Meaning

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  1. One band is $1,000, so this phrase suggests that you have thousands of dollars to compare. Referring to money as "bands" has been in use for decades within the Black community, and the word represents the rubber bands used to hold together stacks of cash. When you offer to go band for band, you are implying that you have more money than another person. [1]
  2. TikTok users often use the phrase to prove that something they have is better than something another person has, whether that be money, clothes, or even opinions. In early 2024, the phrase popped up in a TikTok trend where women compared eyebrow thickness. Posts were usually captioned with something like "band for band, nah let’s go brow for brow." The trend involved rubbing your eyebrows to show off eyebrow hairs or compare the fullness of your brows to someone else's brows. [2]
    • Band for band saw a resurgence in popularity around mid 2024, when Lil Baby and Central Cee released a song using the phrase.
    • Some have used the phrase to bring focus to things that matter more than money to them. For example, one user posted a video of the rapper Lil B The Based God crying with the caption “pov: I’m going band for band with bro, and he says, “I have something more priceless,” and pulls out a selfie of us enjoying life.” [3]
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Section 2 of 4:

How to Use Band for Band

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  1. For situations where you are arguing with someone about money and want to show them that you have more than them, tell them to go band for band. If they refuse, that’s a good sign that you have more than them. You can also tell someone to "show you a band" when you feel like they don’t have enough money for the situation at hand.
    • Say you and a group of friends are hanging out. If one of your friends starts arguing that they have more money than you, you can tell them to go band for band to prove them wrong.
    • If you're ordering pizza for your group of friends and the friend that usually doesn’t have money tells you to order an expensive appetizer, you can tell them “go band for band, since you’ve got so much money.”
  2. In moments where you disagree with someone’s opinion on something and believe that your opinion is better than theirs, tell them to go band for band on that particular thing. Use this if you're confident what you have is better than what the other person has.
    • For example, if you’re arguing with a friend about whether one show is better than the other, you could offer to go band for band to compare individual episodes and see which is better.
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Section 3 of 4:

What does "band for band, m for m" mean?

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  1. In the song, the two rappers go bar for bar, with Central Cee rapping “We can go band for band” before Lil Baby interjects and says “f*** that, we can go m for m.” The term is used to go a step above band for band and compare millions instead of thousands. The song went viral on TikTok in summer 2024, sparking a trend where users compared the accents of the two rappers by switching between modern American and colonial British clothing. [4]
    • Users also participated in the trend to compare two conflicting things.
Section 4 of 4:

Related & Similar Terms

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  1. Racks refer to thousands of dollars. One rack is $1,000, so multiple racks are thousands of dollars. The term was popularized by rapper Yung Chris with his 2011 song “Racks.” If you have thousands of dollars and want to casually talk about them, tell your friends that you have a lot of racks. [5]
    • If you make a lot of money and want to tell someone, let them know that you just made a bunch of racks.
    • If you’re referring to a large sum of money that is less than a thousand, say you have “cheese” or “fetti.”
  2. Bricks refer to a very large sum of money. Rappers have used the phrase to flex their large amounts of wealth. The word is a play off of the bricks used by the Federal Bureau of Engraving and Printing. [6]
    • In New York, the term is used to describe extremely cold weather. [7]
  3. Someone who is broke has no money. If you are having dinner with a friend and they don’t have enough money to pay for their food, they’re broke. The term is usually used in a negative connotation, and can be used as an insult if you are dealing with someone who seems like they don’t have money.
  4. The broke boyfriend hug is a double-armed hug from behind. The hug is usually tight, with the boyfriend rocking side to side as he hugs his partner. The broke boyfriend hug is popular on TikTok and is referred to when a man constantly has his partner pay for things he should be buying, like toiletries, underwear, and other necessities. [8]
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang-terms-for-money/
      2. ↑ https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTFnA4FD2/
      3. ↑ https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTFnULGKx/
      4. ↑ https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTFnAVnG6/
      5. ↑ https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang-terms-for-money/#
      6. ↑ https://www.bep.gov/currency/how-money-is-made#
      7. ↑ https://nyartlife.com/the-10-top-slang-words-in-new-york-city/#
      8. ↑ https://www.trillmag.com/life/social-media/the-broke-boyfriend-hug-how-men-expect-to-be-babied/

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