TPTB 

(1) This acronym represents the Apostle Paul's phrase, "the powers that be." It is from his letter to the Romans, chapter 13, verse 1.

(2) It was used by Joss Whedon's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" TV series to describe a specific group of supernatural beings, whose purpose was to maintain the balance of good and evil in the world.

"The powers that be (TPTB) are ordained of God." Romans 13:1

TPTB by Cheerful Traveller July 22, 2009

TPTB 

Short for, The Powers That Be meaning government, corporations, authority, god, some others....

Damn I hope TPTB don't start a NWO that destroys our freedom. (Wake Up, Look Around, Think for Yourself, and Those You Care For..)

TPTB by pmckart, cause IM NOT AFRAID! January 23, 2011

TPTB 

Shorthand for "The Powers That Be". Believed to have started in Jossverse, the term refers to the directors, producers, writers, actors, etc. of a certain TV show. Mostly used in cult shows like Stargate, Star Trek, BtVS and the like.

"I was really upset when the TPTB killed off my favorite character."

TPTB by Dr. Lucia Zephyr December 26, 2004

TPTB 

The Powers That Be

It's in the hands of TPTB.

TPTB by J Tocher August 31, 2003

tptb 

The Powers That Be, a warez re-release group specialising in compressed games and videos with .bat installers which extract the files.

I just downloaded this awesome game from TPTB, it was only 2gb when the original was 10gb!

tptb by qwertyacme December 27, 2010

TPTB 

Acronym for Total Pain Total Bullshit

A: TPTB is a total pain total bullshit now.
B: What did you expect? It's just talk the talk, walk the walk.

TPTB by jaelee11 April 23, 2008

tptboc

it means too pretty to be on camera

sorry ma’am you’re tptboc

tptboc by notstephane May 9, 2026