How to Use TikTok Phrase "Band for Band,” What It Means, and Similar Terms

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Compare your coin using this hot new phrase
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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. You usually offer to go band for band when you want to prove that you have more money than someone.

Section 1 of 4:

Band for Band Meaning

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  1. 1
    Going band for band means to compare money with someone by the thousands. One band is $1,000, so this phrase suggests that you have thousands of dollars to compare. Bands have been used to refer to money for decades within the Black community, with the word representing the rubber bands used to hold together stacks of cash. [1]
  2. 2
    Band for band got popular on TikTok in 2023. The term has also been used to compare money on the app, but it has evolved to mean the comparison of any two things. In early 2024, a TikTok trend where women compared eyebrows relied on the phrase. Posts were usually captioned with something along the lines of ‘band for band, nah let’s go brow for brow.’ The trend involved rubbing your eyebrows to show off eyebrow hairs and compare the fullness of your brows with another person. [2]
    • The phrase saw a resurgence in popularity around mid 2024, when Lil Baby and Central Cee released a song using the phrase.
    • Users have also used the term to bring focus to things that matter to them more than money. For example, one user posted a video of the rapper Lil B The Based God crying with the caption “pov: Im 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. Use band for band when you want to prove you have more money than someone. For situations where you are arguing with someone about money and want to show them that you have more than then, 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. For example, if you are 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.”
    • Use band for band when you want to compare two things, too. For example, if you’re arguing with a friend about whether one show is better than the other, tell them to go band for band or episode for episode to compare individual episodes and see which is better.
Section 3 of 4:

What does band for band, m for m mean?

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  1. “Band for band, m for m” refers to the popular “BAND4BAND” song by Lil Baby and Central Cee. In the song, the two rappers go bar for bar, with Lil Baby rapping “We can go band for band” before Central Cee 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.
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Section 4 of 4:

Related terms

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  1. 1
    Racks 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.” [5] If you have thousands of dollars and want to casually talk about them, tell your friends that you have a lot of racks.
    • 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. 2
    Bricks 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. 3
    Broke 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. 4
    Broke boyfriend hug 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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