dammit operator
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
The operator ! in the C# programming language, used to indicate to the compiler that a possibly null reference will not be null at that point.
Register: slang
Where it’s used:
Used
American English
Examples
If you have a reference that the compiler presumes could be null […] but which you have good reason to believe will never be null, you can tell the compiler this by using the null forgiving operator […] It is sometimes known informally as the dammit operator, because being an exclamation mark makes
Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “dammit operator” mean?
The operator ! in the C# programming language, used to indicate to the compiler that a possibly null reference will not be null at that point.
Is “dammit operator” formal or informal?
dammit operator is generally slang.