Gaming Glossary
Master the language of competitive gaming. Search, browse, and learn essential terminology across all major esports titles.
94 terms across 7 categories
Showing 94 of 94 terms
General
20 termsAce
Eliminating every member of the opposing team in a single round or engagement by yourself.
Buff
A change that makes a character, weapon, or ability stronger than before.
Carry
A player who single-handedly leads their team to victory through exceptional performance.
Clutch
Winning a round or engagement when severely outnumbered or at a significant disadvantage.
Crossfire
A tactical setup where two or more players have overlapping lines of sight on the same angle, making it nearly impossible for an enemy to fight both.
Draft
The process of selecting characters, champions, or heroes before a match. Also called 'picking phase'.
Economy
The management of in-game currency or resources across rounds, including saving and spending strategies.
Feed
Repeatedly dying to the enemy team, giving them an advantage in resources, score, or momentum.
Flank
Attacking the enemy from the side or rear, bypassing their main defensive position.
GG
Short for 'Good Game'. A standard sportsmanship expression used at the end of a match.
Kiting
Attacking an enemy while continuously moving away to maintain distance and avoid taking damage.
Meta
The Most Effective Tactic Available. The dominant strategy, character picks, or playstyle at a given time.
Nerf
A change that makes a character, weapon, or ability weaker than before.
Peek
Briefly exposing yourself to check an angle or engage an enemy, then quickly returning to cover.
Rotate
Moving from one position or area of the map to another, typically to respond to enemy action or execute a strategy.
Smurf
An experienced player who creates a new or lower-ranked account to play against less skilled opponents.
Throw
Losing a game or round that was clearly winnable, usually due to mistakes or poor decisions.
Tilt
A state of emotional frustration that causes a player to play worse than usual, often leading to aggressive or reckless decisions.
Trade
When one player kills an enemy but is immediately killed by another enemy in return, resulting in an equal exchange.
Wallbang
Shooting through a wall or penetrable surface to damage an enemy on the other side.
CS2
13 termsAnti-eco
A strategy and loadout used when the enemy team is on an eco round, typically involving SMGs or shotguns for maximum money gain on kills.
AWP
A high-damage sniper rifle in CS2 that kills with a single shot to the body. Extremely expensive at $4750.
Eco round
A round where a team intentionally saves money by buying little to no equipment, in order to afford full buys in future rounds.
Force buy
Spending all available money on weapons and utility even when it's not economically ideal, typically to prevent the enemy from building a streak.
Full buy
A round where a team purchases optimal equipment: rifle, armor, and full utility.
Jiggle peek
Rapidly peeking in and out from cover to gather information or bait out enemy shots without giving them time to aim.
Molly
Short for Molotov cocktail or Incendiary grenade. Creates a fire area that deals damage over time and denies territory.
One-way smoke
A smoke grenade lineup that allows a player to see enemies through a gap while remaining concealed from the enemy's perspective.
Pop flash
A flashbang that pops (explodes) just as it comes into the enemy's line of sight, giving them no time to look away.
Prefire
Shooting at a common hiding spot before actually seeing an enemy, based on the likelihood that someone is there.
Retake
The process of reclaiming a bombsite that the enemy team has already planted the bomb on and is defending.
Rush B
A fast, coordinated push to the B bombsite at the start of a round, typically with the entire team. A classic meme and legitimate strategy.
Shoulder peek
Quickly exposing just a small part of your body (shoulder) to bait out a shot or gather information, without fully committing.
Valorant
12 termsEntry frag
The first kill in a round or site take, which significantly shifts the odds in favor of the team that gets it.
Half-buy
A round where a team spends some money on weapons or utility but not enough for a full buy, often after a partial save.
Lineup
A specific position and aiming angle for an ability that guarantees it lands in a precise spot, often used for smokes, mollies, or ultimate abilities.
Off-angle
Holding an unusual or unexpected position that opponents are unlikely to pre-aim or check.
One-way
A smoke or ability placement that allows one team to see through it while the other cannot, similar to a one-way smoke in CS2.
Operator
Valorant's high-damage sniper rifle, equivalent to CS2's AWP. Costs 4700 credits and kills with one shot to the body.
Orbs
Glowing spheres on the map that grant Ultimate points when collected. There are two on each map.
Play slow
A strategic approach where the attacking team takes their time, faking sites and gathering information before committing to a push.
Retake protocol
A planned set of actions and ability uses for reclaiming a planted spike site.
Save round
A round where players intentionally avoid combat to save their weapons for the next round, typically when winning is unlikely.
Spike
The bomb-like device in Valorant that the attacking team must plant at a designated site to win the round.
Ult economy
Managing when and how to use ultimate abilities across rounds to maximize strategic value.
LoL
13 termsBaron
Short for Baron Nashor, the most powerful neutral objective. Slaying it grants a buff that empowers minions, making it easier to push lanes and take structures.
CC
Short for Crowd Control. Abilities that restrict enemy movement or actions, such as stuns, slows, roots, or silences.
Dive
Attacking an enemy under their own tower, typically by absorbing tower aggro with a tank while damage dealers follow up.
Dragon soul
A powerful permanent buff earned by a team that slays four dragons. The soul type matches the dragon element of the game.
Freeze
Holding the minion wave in a specific position near your tower, denying the enemy farm and experience while keeping yourself safe.
Gank
When a player (usually the jungler) moves to a lane to help their teammate secure a kill on an opponent by creating a numbers advantage.
Last hit
Dealing the killing blow to a minion to earn gold. A fundamental skill in League of Legends.
Peel
Using abilities or positioning to protect a teammate from enemy attacks, typically by crowd-controlling or zoning away threats from a carry.
Poke
Dealing small amounts of damage to enemies from a distance before a full engagement, wearing them down over time.
Scaling
A champion or team composition that becomes significantly stronger as the game progresses and items are acquired.
Split push
A strategy where one player applies pressure on a side lane while the rest of the team occupies the enemy elsewhere, forcing the enemy to choose which threat to respond to.
Teamfight
A large-scale engagement involving most or all players from both teams, usually around a major objective.
Ward
A placed item that provides vision of an area, revealing enemy movements. Essential for map control and avoiding ganks.
Dota 2
12 termsAegis
An item dropped by Roshan when killed. Grants the holder a respawn at the location where they died, essentially giving them a second life.
Bounty rune
Runes that spawn at fixed locations every 3 minutes, granting gold to the entire team. Important for team economy.
Creep equilibrium
The position on the lane where AI-controlled creeps (minions) naturally clash. Controlling this position is a key laning skill.
Deny
Killing your own creeps, towers, or allies before the enemy can, denying them gold and experience.
High ground
Elevated terrain that provides vision advantage and makes it harder for enemies below to attack or see up. Crucial for defending and sieging bases.
Micro
The ability to control multiple units individually, such as illusions, summons, or dominated creeps, with precise and rapid actions.
Offlane
The lane where a team's offlaner plays, which is the lane closest to the enemy's safe lane. Typically a solo role focused on surviving and creating space.
Pull
Drawing neutral jungle creeps into the lane to attack your own creeps, denying gold and experience to the enemy while controlling the lane position.
Roshan
The most powerful neutral creep on the map, located in a pit. Killing him grants Aegis of the Immortal and later Cheese and Aghanim's Blessing.
Smoke of Deceit
A consumable item that makes the user and nearby allies invisible to enemy wards. Essential for setting up ganks and taking objectives.
Stack
Aggroing a neutral camp and walking away before the creeps die, causing a new set to spawn at the minute mark, creating a 'stacked' camp with multiple sets.
TP
Short for Town Portal Scroll or Teleport. Allows instant travel to a friendly building, essential for responding to ganks and defending towers.
Apex Legends
12 termsBail out
Using a Jump Tower or other means to quickly escape a losing fight and reposition.
Beacon
A Survey Beacon that characters with the 'Survey' passive can scan to reveal the next ring location.
Crafting
Using Crafting Materials found on the map or from loot ticks to create specific items at Replicators placed around the map.
Hot drop
Landing in a location where many other teams also land, resulting in immediate chaotic fighting. High risk, high reward.
Legend
A playable character in Apex Legends, each with unique passive, tactical, and ultimate abilities.
Loot tick
A small robot found around the map that drops random loot when punched or shot. A reliable source of early-game equipment.
Punch-up
Using melee attacks to finish off a downed enemy or break a door during combat.
Ring
The shrinking zone in Apex Legends that deals damage to players outside it, forcing teams closer together as the match progresses.
Shield swap
Quickly replacing a depleted or damaged body shield with a fresh one from a death box or the ground during combat, a critical survival skill.
Third party
A team that engages in a fight between two other teams, taking advantage of the fact that both teams are damaged and distracted.
Ult
Short for Ultimate ability. The most powerful ability each Legend has, requiring time or actions to charge before use.
Zone
Short for the safe zone—the area inside the current ring where players take no ring damage.
Overwatch 2
12 termsBrawl
A team composition and strategy centered on close-range heroes that excel in sustained, close-quarters fighting. Often includes tanks with barriers.
Cart
Short for the payload in Escort and Hybrid game modes. The attacking team must push it to the end of the map.
Choke
A narrow passage or doorway that teams must pass through, making it easy for defenders to hold. Also called a 'choke point'.
Dive
A team composition and strategy focused on quickly jumping onto and eliminating key targets (usually supports) using high-mobility heroes.
Overkill
Using more resources or abilities than necessary to eliminate a target, leaving the team vulnerable for the next fight.
Peel
Using abilities or positioning to protect a teammate who is being attacked, typically by a flanker or diver.
Poke
A team composition and strategy that focuses on long-range damage to wear down the enemy before committing to a full engagement.
Spawn camp
Positioning near the enemy spawn to eliminate them as they leave, preventing them from regrouping with their team.
Speed boost
Lucio's ability that increases nearby allies' movement speed, essential for initiating dives or retreating from lost fights.
Stagger
Dying and respawning at different times from your team, resulting in players trickling in one by one and being unable to group up for a coordinated push.
Trans
Short for Zenyatta's ultimate, Transcendence, which provides massive healing to all nearby allies. One of the most powerful defensive ultimates.
Ult economy
Managing ultimate ability usage across a team to ensure enough are available for critical fights while not wasting them on low-value situations.
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