What Does OP Mean on Reddit? Explained With Real Examples
I'll admit something. When I first started reading Reddit, I thought OP was a person. A specific user. The poor guy was apparently in some kind of drama in every thread I opened, and people just would not stop begging him for updates. I figured this out way later than I'd like to say.
Anyway, If you landed here typing what OP meant on Reddit into Google, same, I've been there. OP = Original Poster. The guy (or girl) who made the post. No mystery man. Just whoever clicked the button.
Still, there's a bit more to it once you start reading comment sections, so stick with me.
The Meaning of OP on Reddit
Anyone who submits a post becomes the OP of that thread. Could be a question. Could also be a meme, some long angry story about a landlord and a broken heater, or a shaky phone video of a dog stealing a sandwich off the counter. Whatever. The type of post doesn't change anything. You posted it, so in that thread you're OP until the end of time.
A quick example. Someone writes in r/cats that their cat learned to open the fridge. Somebody replies, "OP, get a baby lock, trust me." Nobody types out the actual username because nobody needs to.
Now and then OP means the post, not the person. Somebody asks a question that's already answered up top, and a reply pops up: "it's in the OP, man." Translation: you didn't read it. Not super common. Still happens.
Where Did OP Come From?
It's older than Reddit, actually. Old internet forums used it back in the late '90s, when a single thread could drag on for twenty pages and people needed some way to point back at whoever started the mess.
When Reddit showed up in 2005, plenty of its early users were forum people. They brought their slang with them, and OP stuck. Open any thread on the front page right now and I'd bet money someone's already typed it.
How People Actually Use It
Mostly it's just a way to talk to the poster. "OP, where did you buy that chair?" Simple stuff.
On advice subreddits it turns into something else. Spend an evening on r/AmItheAsshole and you'll see what I mean. OP stops being a user and turns into the main character of a story everybody's got an opinion on. "OP left out half the story." "Honestly OP's brother is the real problem here." Sometimes there are hundreds of comments arguing about OP, and OP hasn't replied once.
There's also a little OP badge. If the person who posted comments in their own thread, Reddit sticks a tiny "OP" tag next to their username. This is one of my favorite small features on the site. I use it constantly on tech help posts. Instead of reading 600 comments, I just scroll until I see the badge and check if they ever fixed the problem.
A few phrases have kind of become traditions too. "OP delivers" shows up when the poster actually posts the photo or update everyone asked for. "Update us, OP" is under pretty much every juicy story. And when OP's username matches their post a little too well, someone will always comment "username checks out."
OP Can Mean Something Else Entirely
Here's where it gets confusing.
Gamers? Totally different meaning. For them OP is overpowered. Think of that one gun in a shooter that everyone hates getting killed by. Players call it OP, cry about it on the forums, and a month later the devs tone it down. Anime people, on the other hand, say OP when they mean the opening song, the thing you either skip or sing along to. So the same two letters can mean totally different things depending on who's talking.
On gaming subreddits you'll sometimes get both in one comment. I once saw "OP's loadout is actually OP" and had to read it twice before I laughed. Context usually makes it obvious, though.
A Few More Reddit Terms You'll See Everywhere
After OP, TL;DR is probably the next one that'll catch your eye. Stands for too long, didn't read. You'll usually find it at the very bottom of a giant wall of text, one or two lines saying what the whole thing was about. I read those first, honestly. OC means original content, basically "I made this myself." Then there's AMA, which is short for ask me anything. Those threads are great. Some are with celebrities, but the best ones I've read were from regular people with strange jobs.
ELI5 means explain like I'm five, and there's a whole subreddit just for simple explanations of complicated stuff. TIL means today I learned. Karma is the number that goes up when people upvote you. Repost? That's when you share something that was already on the sub before. Someone will catch it. Always. And mods are the people running each subreddit, unpaid, deleting spam at 3 a.m. for fun apparently.
Got a question about your account or some rule? Reddit has its own Help Center for that stuff.
Why Bother Learning This?
You don't strictly need to. But Reddit feels a lot less confusing once the slang clicks. You'll know who a comment is aimed at. You'll find answers quicker. And you won't accidentally reply to "this character is OP" with a question about who posted it. (Yes, I've done that.)
Before You Post Your First Thread
At some point you'll post something too, and then you're the OP. I've messed up a couple of mine, so a few things I wish someone told me.
First, the rules. Every sub has them, usually in the sidebar. I once spent twenty minutes writing a post in a gardening sub, forgot the flair, and a bot deleted it in about four seconds. I didn't love that. Also, make the title say what the post is actually about. "Help pls" gets ignored. Add enough detail so people aren't guessing.
Then stay for a while and answer comments. Posts where OP is active usually get way better replies. And if folks come back two days later asking how it all turned out, tell them. People on Reddit really do remember the OPs who come back with an ending.
Saving a Video That OP Posted
Reddit has tons of videos. Cooking clips, sports moments, gaming fails, random stuff you end up watching at 2 a.m. The frustrating part is there's no proper download button. And because Reddit keeps the video and audio as separate files, a lot of downloaders give you a clip with no sound. I went through three different tools before finding one that didn't do that.
That's basically why we made RedLoad. It's a free reddit video downloader that keeps the audio attached to the video. You can use it right here: Reddit video downloader.
How it works is pretty easy. Open the post, tap Share, copy the link. Paste it on redload.io, pick the quality, download. What lands on your device is a normal MP4, which your phone's gallery, VLC or pretty much any laptop will open without complaining. No app, no account, no signing up with your email for a newsletter you'll never read.
Just one request. The video is still OP's work. If you post it somewhere else, give them credit. Don't reupload it like it's yours.
So, Long Story Short
Original Poster. That's all OP means on Reddit, the person who kicked the thread off. The word is way older than the site, it came from those ancient message boards, and nobody ever bothered replacing it. One thing to watch though: gamers mean overpowered, anime fans mean the opening song. Read the room.
Next time an OP posts a video you want to keep, you know what to do. Use a Reddit video downloader like RedLoad and you'll get it with sound.
FAQs
What does OP mean on Reddit?
It's short for Original Poster. Whoever made the post is the OP of that thread.
What is the OP tag next to a username?
It means that the commenter is the same person who made the original post.
Does OP mean overpowered? In gaming, yes. On most of Reddit, it means original poster.
Is calling someone OP rude?
Nope, not at all. It's just the normal way people refer to the poster. Tone depends on the rest of the comment, not the word itself.
Can there be more than one OP in a thread?
No. Only one person made the post, so only they get to be OP. Everyone else is just a commenter, even if they post fifty replies.
Why can't I see the OP badge sometimes?
The badge only shows when the original poster comments in their own thread. If they never replied, or deleted their account, there's nothing to tag.
Can I download a video someone posted on Reddit?
Yep. Copy the link to the post, paste it on redload.io (it's a reddit video downloader), click download. The file comes with sound.
Ready to save your own copy?
Paste any Reddit video link and download it in seconds — with sound.
Editor · RedLoad Guides
Lauren Dosela is a digital content writer and technology enthusiast who covers social media, online platforms, and practical web tools. She specializes in turning complex digital topics into clear, useful, and easy-to-follow guides for everyday readers.
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