meeting that could've been an email
/ˈmiːtɪŋ ðæt kʊdəv bɪn ən ˈiːmeɪl/
Very CommonA meeting that wasted everyone's time and should have just been a written message.
Almost always used in complaint. Occasionally flipped as a joke about the opposite problem.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 30 minute all-hands to tell us what was already in the newsletter. that was a meeting that could've been an email. | Information that was already communicated was repeated in a mandatory meeting. | x, 2023 |
| 02 | survived 4 meetings that could've been emails today. i deserve something. | A day full of pointless meetings feels like an accomplishment just to endure. | instagram, 2024 |
| 03 | my whole calendar is meetings that could've been emails and emails that could've been slacks. corporate is something. | The entire communication structure at this company is inefficient. | tiktok, 2023 |
| 04 | if you send a meeting invite with no agenda it's going to be a meeting that could've been an email. every time. | No agenda is a reliable sign the meeting has no clear purpose. | x, 2022 |
Use it when
- Leaving or sitting through a meeting where no real-time interaction was needed.
- Complaining about unnecessary meetings.
- Joking about corporate inefficiency.
Do not use it when
- The meeting actually required live discussion or decisions.
Variations and related forms
Origin and context
The phrase has circulated as office humor since at least the early 2010s. It became a widely shared internet meme, appearing as a mug slogan, tweet format, and office joke.
- First seen
- early-2010s
- Confidence
- medium
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Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/meeting-that-couldve-been-emailUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0