10-4
Government & Politics abbreviation · Police Code
| Stands for | Acknowledgment (message received, OK) |
|---|---|
| Categories | Government & Politics |
10-4 stands for Acknowledgment (message received, OK), a police code abbreviation.
Most famous ten-code, meaning "message received and understood" or simply "OK." It is used to confirm instructions over police, trucking and CB radio and has passed into everyday slang.
Example: 10-4, dispatch, I'll head over to the school and check on it.
Usage notes
Ten-codes are generally credited to Charles Hopper, communications director for the Illinois State Police, in the late 1930s, as a way to shorten messages on crowded, noisy radio channels; APCO published and later expanded the list. The 1950s TV show "Highway Patrol" and the 1970s CB radio craze, along with songs such as "Convoy," made "10-4" famous. "10-4, good buddy" became a trucker catchphrase. Because 10-4 is so universal, it is one of the few codes that survives in agencies that have otherwise switched to plain language.