Meaning & use
mutuals
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Meanings
nounpluralslang
People on a social media platform who follow you while you follow them back.
Grammar: Plural noun, singular is a mutual: she is a mutual, they are mutuals.
Patterns
- mutuals with someone
Only my mutuals can see my private stories.
We became mutuals after commenting on the same posts.
She posted a thread asking her mutuals for book ideas.
nounpluralfinanceBritish
Businesses, such as insurers or savings societies, or investment funds, owned by their customers or members rather than outside shareholders.
Grammar: Plural noun, often used in finance news: the mutuals paid out dividends.
Several mutuals offered higher savings rates than the big banks.
Building societies are among the best-known mutuals in Britain.
The mutuals promised to return profits to members.
Word forms
| singular | mutual |
|---|
Common combinations
- follow your mutuals
- I only follow my mutuals on that app.
- mutuals only
- The account is mutuals only.
- become mutuals
- They became mutuals last year.
- building society mutuals
- The building society mutuals gained new members.
Synonyms and how they differ
- followers
- Followers follow you but you may not follow them, while mutuals follow each other.
- friends
- Friends suggests a real relationship, but mutuals only describes a two-way follow.
- co-operatives
- This describes member-owned businesses, but is broader and not limited to finance.
Word family
Commonly confused: mutuals or mutual friends?
mutuals vs mutual friends
Mutual friends are people two people both know; mutuals on social media are people who follow each other.
Practice
On a social platform, a user says they only post to their mutuals. Who can see the posts?
Choose one answer.
Mutuals follow each other. Only people they follow ignores whether those people follow back.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mutuals”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.