FW meaning: forwarded, in email and in texts
In an email subject, FW means forwarded: someone received the message and passed it on to you, with the original underneath. In a text, fw is slang for liking someone or something.
Last updated
FW.
means passed on to you
Filed under F and G jargon.
FW at the top of an email
What FW: means in a subject line
When you forward an email in Outlook, it puts FW: in front of the subject. That tells the new reader the message started somewhere else. The original sits below whatever the forwarder typed, attachments included.
Forward is the button for people who were on neither the To line nor the Cc line. A reply goes back to people already in the thread, and a forward brings someone new in. A reply also drops the attachments while a forward keeps them, which is why the 14 MB deck lands in your inbox three times.
Why Outlook writes FW and not Fwd
The internet’s mail standard names exactly one subject prefix: Re: for a reply, short for the Latin in re, “in the matter of”. It names none for a forward. So each mail app picked its own, and Outlook went with FW:. Other apps write Fwd:, and the two mean the same thing.
Reading a stack of FW: RE: FW:
A subject like “FW: RE: RE: FW: Parking” is the thread’s history, newest on the left. Each RE: is a reply. An FW: marks a moment when someone new got pulled in. Start with the original at the bottom of the email and work upward. The last person to forward it wants something from you, and has written only “see below”. Somewhere in the middle, one RE: usually holds the decision everyone above it is asking about.
Edit before you send
Outlook lets you change the forwarded text, drop attachments and rewrite the subject before you press send. The usual forward does none of the three. A forward with the subject fixed and one line on top saying what you need gets read. A bare FW: gets filed. It’s as short as a pls, with the request left out.
What a forward says at work
Forwarding up the chain
A forward to your manager with “FYI” on top is the quietest complaint in the office. It shows what someone wrote without saying a word about it, and the forwarder stays deniable. If the forward says FYA instead, the job inside is now yours, and so is the deadline.
The part of the thread you weren’t meant to see
Everything below a forward travels with it. That includes the reply from two weeks ago where someone called your project “ambitious”, in quotation marks. Before you forward a long thread, scroll to the bottom and read what’s down there. Cut what the new reader doesn’t need, or start a fresh email and paste the one line that matters.
CC and forward do different jobs. A CC brings someone in at the start, in front of everyone. A forward brings them in later and privately, with the whole history attached.
The forward that comes home
A forward can travel in a circle. You send a broken badge reader to IT, IT forwards it to facilities, and facilities forwards it to your manager. Your manager forwards it back to you with one line: “Can you look into this”. The subject now reads FW: FW: FW: Badge reader, and the problem is yours again, with three extra people watching it.
FW as a chain letter
Chain emails were the classic forward: a made-up story, then a promise that your wish comes true if you send it to 20 people. Offices kept the format and dropped the wish. Now it’s the wellness newsletter your manager forwards to the whole team, with no comment and a 4 pm Friday timestamp.
FW outside the inbox
FW in a text message
In a text or a comment, fw is slang built on a cruder verb, and it means you like or rate someone or something. “I fw you” means I like you, as a friend or more. “I don’t fw that” means you’re not into it. It works for songs, shoes and restaurants as well as people. So a “fw” from your nephew and a FW: from your manager are two very different messages.
FW on a label
In fashion, FW is fall/winter, usually with a year after it, so an FW25 collection is the one for autumn and winter 2025. In IT it can mean firmware or a firewall. A subject line always means the forward. FW sits with CC, FYI and OOO among the email codes in the corporate jargon dictionary.
An email that came with FW: on it
Subject:
FW:Passed on: RE: FW: Parking garage closed MondayAdding you since you’re on Monday’s client visit. Ignore the part about the shuttle bus, it got cancelled two replies down. Level 2 opens again Tuesday at 7.
Questions about FW
What does FW mean in text?
It depends on where you see it. On an email, FW means forwarded. In texts and comments it's slang for liking someone or something, so "I fw that song" means you like the song.
Is "I fw you" flirting?
It can be. It means "I like you", and friends say it to friends too, so the rest of the chat decides which kind. It almost never turns up in a work thread, where FW only ever means a forward.
What does FW stand for?
In email, forward or forwarded. In fashion it stands for fall/winter, in IT for firmware or a firewall, and in texting slang for a cruder phrase that means to like or rate something.
Is FW used in social media?
Yes, as slang. A comment saying someone fw a post means they like it, and "don't fw" means they don't. On social media it has nothing to do with forwarding.
Is FW the same as Fwd?
Yes. Both mark an email that was forwarded. Outlook writes FW: at the start of the subject, and some other mail apps write Fwd: in the same spot.