On social media, MCM means Man Crush Monday. Dictionary.com describes it as a trend of posting pictures of, and showing affection for, attractive or admirable men on Mondays, usually with #MCM or #ManCrushMonday. 'My MCM' can also mean the man himself. Outside social media, MCM often means mid-century modern, the furniture style.
MCM is one of the best-known day-of-the-week hashtags, and it's changed more than you might think. It started as men admiring other men, became a way for anyone to post about a partner or celebrity crush, and now also covers scientists and role models. Here's the story and how to use it well.
Man Crush Monday in plain English
Dictionary.com says Man Crush Monday refers to a social media trend dedicated to posting pictures of and expressing affection for attractive or admirable men on Mondays. It can refer to the occasion, the hashtag or the crush himself. Its examples: 'I heard Aldis Hodge was your Man Crush Monday' or 'I just got to meet my #mcm!'
So if someone captions a photo of their boyfriend '#MCM', they're saying he's their man crush this Monday. If a fan posts a film star with the same tag, it's admiration from afar.
How Man Crush Monday started
Dictionary.com says Man Crush Monday, often shortened to MCM, emerged on Twitter in mid 2009. Early on, it says, context suggests the phrase was mostly used by men tweeting about men they admired, or had a man crush on. A man crush, in that sense, was generally seen as non-romantic and nonsexual.
Instagram helped it spread. Dictionary.com says that when Instagram added hashtags in 2011, #ManCrushMonday was one of many that users adopted, and that by April 2017 there were over four million posts tagged #ManCrushMonday on the site. It adds that, according to Google Trends, the term began to gain popularity in 2013, at the same time as its sister phrase, Woman Crush Wednesday.
| When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Mid 2009 | Man Crush Monday emerges on Twitter | Dictionary.com |
| 2010 | Woman Crush Wednesday debuts on Twitter | Dictionary.com |
| 2011 | Instagram adds hashtags and #ManCrushMonday is adopted | Dictionary.com |
| 2013 | The term starts gaining popularity, per Google Trends | Dictionary.com |
| April 2017 | Over four million #ManCrushMonday posts on Instagram | Dictionary.com |
What a man crush means
The phrase underneath MCM has its own entry. Wiktionary defines man crush as a crush-like but non-sexual feeling of attraction or admiration, and lists bromance and brolationship as synonyms. It also records a second, colloquial sense: a crush on, meaning attraction toward, a man.
That double meaning explains how MCM changed. Dictionary.com says it metamorphosed from an opportunity for men to post their man crushes into an occasion for anyone, regardless of gender, to talk about men they found attractive or appealing in some way. Wiktionary also cites an early definition from the 'Ticktionary' of KTCK, a Dallas-Fort Worth radio station: one male being in awe of another male for any reason.
Not only about looks
This is the part I like. Dictionary.com says that while many posts focus on physical appearance or style, some Man Crush Mondays celebrate character, achievements and personality. It gives the example of #ManCrushMonday being used for popular scientists like Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson. It also notes that media outlets use Man Crush Monday as a headline or recurring feature, and that the daytime TV show The Real ran a segment with the name.
For a business, that's the useful angle. An MCM post celebrating a team member, a mentor or a customer who did something brilliant feels warm and human. A post objectifying a stranger doesn't.
The other MCMs
Away from Mondays, MCM has plenty of other meanings. Wiktionary lists these, among others:
- Mid-century modern, the furniture and design style. Wiktionary quotes Popular Woodworking in August 2026 on how MCM furniture is made to look lighter.
- Multi-chip module, in electronics.
- Mine countermeasures, in military and naval use, and medical countermeasures in medicine.
- Modern classical music.
- The airport code for Monaco Heliport.
- In lower case, mcm can mean million cubic metres, and in Malay texting it's short for macam, meaning like.
Which one is meant is nearly always obvious from where you see it. A woodworking forum, a property listing or a vintage shop is talking furniture. A defence report is talking mine countermeasures. A selfie with a heart emoji is talking crushes.
If you see MCM in an interior design account, it's almost certainly the furniture. On a Monday selfie, it's the crush.
Where crush comes from
Merriam-Webster defines the noun crush as an intense and usually passing infatuation, and also the object of that infatuation. It lists 'crushing on' someone as an informal verb, with the example 'She's been crushing on him all summer.' The word itself goes back to Middle English crusshen, from Anglo-French, and Merriam-Webster dates the verb to the 15th century.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
A short read on a different term is waiting in the WCW meaning page.
MCM vs other day hashtags
MCM is part of a whole calendar of weekly tags. Woman Crush Wednesday is the obvious partner, and Dictionary.com says it debuted on Twitter in 2010, a year after MCM, with its first references coming from women posting about their girl crushes. The two grew together, which is why many people treat them as a pair: Monday for the men, Wednesday for the women.
Curious how this kind of slang spread? The IC meaning page has the background.
How to post an MCM
If you want to join in, keep it simple and kind:
- Tag the person if they're happy to be featured, and say why: 'He made dinner every night this week #MCM'.
- Use #MCM or #ManCrushMonday, not both plus ten others. My guide to choosing hashtags explains why fewer, better tags work.
- Add the fire emoji if it's about looks, or a heart if it's about character.
And if someone captions your photo #MCM, take it as a compliment. Just don't confuse admiration with obsession. If a crush goes too far, people might call it something else entirely, and my guide to simp covers that.
Frequently asked questions
What does MCM mean on Instagram?
It means Man Crush Monday, a hashtag for posting about a man you admire on a Monday.
What does 'my MCM' mean?
It means 'my man crush', the man someone is featuring or admiring that Monday.
When did Man Crush Monday start?
Dictionary.com says it emerged on Twitter in mid 2009.
Is MCM romantic?
It can be, but Dictionary.com says it began as non-romantic admiration between men.
What does MCM mean in furniture?
It means mid-century modern, a design style listed by Wiktionary.
What is the female version of MCM?
WCW, Woman Crush Wednesday, which Dictionary.com says debuted on Twitter in 2010.
