General gaming glossary
The words that travel between games: AFK, GG, MMR, meta, smurf, grind. Plain meaning first, then how players actually use it.
- 36 terms
- Free no account needed
Terms people look up
Just added
Ninja Defuse
A ninja defuse is defusing the bomb or spike while enemies are still alive and nearby, relying on them not noticing until it is too late to stop you. It is one of the highest risk,...
NT
NT stands for nice try, a short piece of chat used after a teammate makes an attempt that fails. It is one of the most common callouts in team shooters, and depending on timing and...
One Trick
A one trick is a player who plays a single character, champion or agent almost exclusively, often for hundreds or thousands of games. The abbreviation OTP stands for One Trick Pony...
VPN
A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, routes your connection through a server in another location before it reaches the game. In gaming that means you can play on servers in other reg...
Noob
Noob means an inexperienced or unskilled player. It started as shorthand for newbie, meaning someone genuinely new, but drifted into an insult aimed at anyone playing badly regardl...
Patch
A patch is an update that changes a game after release, delivering bug fixes, balance adjustments, new content or security changes. Patch notes are the published list of what chang...
A
AFK
AFK stands for away from keyboard. In gaming it describes a player who is still connected to the match but is no longer controlling their character, either because they physically...
Aimbot
Aimbot is cheat software that automatically points a player's crosshair at an opponent, usually by reading enemy positions straight from the game's memory. It is most common in FPS...
B
Battle Pass
A battle pass is a seasonal reward track that hands out cosmetics as you play. It runs for a fixed season, usually splits into a free track and a paid premium track, and rewards ar...
BM
BM stands for bad manners. In gaming it describes any action meant to disrespect, mock or humiliate another player rather than to win the game, from emote spamming over a corpse to...
Boosting
Boosting is the practice of raising an account's rank or rating with the help of a stronger player, either by that player logging into the account or by playing alongside it in duo...
C
CD Key
A CD key is a code that activates a game or add-on on a platform account. The name survives from physical discs, but today a key is a string you redeem on Steam, Epic Games, Battle...
Crossplay
Cross-play is a feature that lets players on different platforms play together in the same match, so a PC player can queue with someone on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch or mobile. It i...
D
E
Elo Boost
Elo boost means having a stronger player raise the rank on your account, either by playing it directly or by queueing alongside you. The name comes from the Elo rating system, the...
Escrow
Escrow means a marketplace holds the buyer's payment until delivery is confirmed, releasing it to the seller only once the account, item or currency has actually arrived. It is the...
F
F2P
F2P stands for free to play. It describes a game you can download and play in full without buying it, with the revenue coming from optional purchases instead of a price tag. League...
Frag
Frag means a kill in a shooter. One frag is one enemy eliminated, and the word doubles as a verb, so fragging is the act of getting kills. It comes from military slang and entered...
G
Gold
Gold is the standard in game currency of most MMOs and RPGs, earned through questing, farming and trading rather than bought from the developer. It funds gear, consumables, craftin...
Griefing
Griefing means deliberately ruining the experience for other players rather than trying to win. It covers sabotaging your own team, blocking teammates, destroying shared progress o...
H
Hard Carry
Hard carry means winning a match almost single handedly, and it also names the role built to do exactly that. As a verb, hard carrying is what happens when one player's performance...
HUD
HUD stands for heads up display, the layer of information permanently on screen while you play: health, ammo, minimap, abilities, timers and scores. The name comes from aviation, w...
I
M
Meta
Meta means the set of strategies, characters and builds that are strongest in a game right now. It is usually explained as most effective tactics available, and it shifts with ever...
Microtransactions
Microtransactions are small real-money purchases made inside a game, usually for cosmetics, currency, battle passes or convenience items. Often shortened to MTX, they replaced the...
MMORPG
MMORPG stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, a genre where thousands of players share one persistent world, build a character over months or years, and progres...
MOBA
MOBA stands for Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, a genre where two teams of five control individual heroes on a fixed map and push toward the enemy base. League of Legends, Dota 2...
N
Nerf
Nerf means a developer has deliberately made something weaker in a balance update. A nerfed character, weapon or ability deals less damage, costs more, lasts less time or gets a lo...
Ninja Defuse
A ninja defuse is defusing the bomb or spike while enemies are still alive and nearby, relying on them not noticing until it is too late to stop you. It is one of the highest risk,...
Noob
Noob means an inexperienced or unskilled player. It started as shorthand for newbie, meaning someone genuinely new, but drifted into an insult aimed at anyone playing badly regardl...
NT
NT stands for nice try, a short piece of chat used after a teammate makes an attempt that fails. It is one of the most common callouts in team shooters, and depending on timing and...
O
P
Patch
A patch is an update that changes a game after release, delivering bug fixes, balance adjustments, new content or security changes. Patch notes are the published list of what chang...
Pay to Win
Pay to win, usually shortened to P2W, means a game where spending real money gives a direct competitive advantage. That covers stronger gear, faster progression, exclusive characte...
Ping
Ping is the time it takes for data to travel from your computer to the game server and back, measured in milliseconds. Lower is better: under 30 ms feels instant, over 100 ms is no...
R
RMT
RMT stands for real money trading, meaning any exchange of in game goods for real currency. It covers buying gold, selling accounts, trading skins for cash and paying for boosting,...
RNG
RNG stands for Random Number Generator, the system that decides any outcome a game leaves to chance. Critical hits, loot drops, gacha pulls, card draws and enemy spawns all run on...
S
SBMM
SBMM stands for skill based matchmaking, the system that pairs you with opponents of similar ability instead of at random. It runs on a hidden rating that rises when you win and fa...
Skin
A skin is a cosmetic item that changes how a character, weapon or vehicle looks without changing how it performs. Skins are the main revenue source for most free to play games, the...
Skins
Skins are cosmetic items that change how a character, weapon or vehicle looks without altering how it performs. They are the most common thing players buy in modern games, and in t...
Smurf
Smurf means an experienced player using a new or low ranked account, so they face opponents far below their real skill level. The word comes from two Warcraft II players who made a...