What Does GTS Mean?

It’s not easy to learn the English language. It is thought that you would need to know more than 10,000 words to speak it well. But that’s not enough in the real world. It would only take one text message for you to understand why. When you first saw an acronym, like GTS, you would look it up in a book to find out what it meant. But there isn’t one there. Here, though, you will find one, so keep reading.

What Does GTS Mean?

GTS is an abbreviation. That means it’s not a word but an abbreviation of a sentence made up of the first letters of the words in the phrase.

In this case, GTS stands for “Go to Sleep” or “Going to Sleep.” People often use it to tell someone they’re going to bed or to ask them to go to bed when they’re talking to them online or via text message. It’s also an initialism, which means that when you say it out loud, you say each letter: Gee-Tee-Ess.

When Did the Acronym Start Being Used?

Like most words, GTS is hard to figure out where it came from. We know that it was already a well-known acronym in 1997 when people used AOL’s Instant Messenger (AIM) for real-time internet messaging.

But it really took off when people with cell phones could send text messages to people on other service networks. Texters had to use awkward t9 text entry (typing with the number pad on their phones) to send messages, so acronyms were almost a must.

Other GTS Meanings

One thing that makes it hard to learn familiar English acronyms is that they often have more than one meaning. So, if you asked five different English speakers what GTS means, you might get five different answers. The way GTS is used is the best way to figure out what it means. Other ways to interpret GTS are:

Going Through Sh*t – a phrase indicating that the speaker is dealing with difficulties in their life.
Good Times – a phrase used to indicate nostalgia, often in conversations discussing past events.
Google That Sh*t – a phrase instructing someone to look up the answer to their question rather than bothering the speaker with it.

When to Use GTS?

There are no hard and fast rules about when to use GTS. But if you want to use it, it’s best to stick with the most popular GTS meaning of “going to sleep” to avoid confusion. Then, you should only use it when you need to be short, like in a text message, and only when you are chatting informally.

So you wouldn’t use it to talk to a business contact, for example. But you might if you were talking to a friend or family member. And if you want to use GTS for one of its other meanings, make sure there are enough signs in the text to show the reader what you mean.

Examples of Using GTS

If you want to use GTS in a sentence, you should know how it is usually used. Because it’s a word, most people won’t know what it means until they see it in the right place. Here are some examples that will show you how:

It’s been a long and tiring day, so I’m GTS.
It’s the middle of the night and it’s well past your bedtime so you should GTS.
Don’t bother calling me, I’m GTS and won’t be awake until tomorrow morning.
I’ve lost my home in a fire and my insurance isn’t helping me, so I’m GTS right now.
If you’re GTS you should reach out for help so you don’t have a breakdown.
Our trip to the Bahamas was really amazing – GTS, right?
When you think of our relationship, I want you to remember all of the GTS we had together.
If you can’t figure out how to cook that meal, GTS and you’ll find a recipe.
Why are you asking me that question when you can GTS yourself?
I’ve had to tell people to GTS so often, I’m getting royalty checks from Google for all of the extra site traffic.

Conclusion

Even though GTS isn’t a word, it’s likely that you’ll come across it at some point if you speak English. Now that you know “Going to Sleep” is the most common meaning of GTS, you won’t be confused when you see it. You won’t get confused when someone tells you they’re having a hard time, tells you about a good time they had, or tells you that Google has the answer to your question.

But be careful, because if someone says they’re GTS, it might really mean they don’t want to talk to you anymore. Just try not to let it bother you.