Glossary of player terms

“

Hohoho, hohoho! You got owned! Click to listen — The Scout

”

A number of unofficial terms find regular usage in the game. This glossary lists some of the more common ones players may see:

General Terminology

A

AFK

Acronym for "Away From Keyboard". This is used to refer to any period of time where a player stands still too long, which often can result in the player being kicked or moved to Spectator.

Aerial / Air shot / Airshot

The hitting or killing of an opponent who is in midair, usually following a juggle.

Airstab

The act of killing an enemy by falling behind a player and backstabbing them as a Spy.

Airblast / Compblast

Slang for Pyro's compression blast ability.

Axtinguish

A colloquialism that describes the Critical hit that occurs when a burning enemy is struck by the Axtinguisher.

B

Backcapping / Back-capturing / Backcapture

See back-capping.

Battlemedic

A Medic that focuses on killing opponents rather than healing his teammates, likely making use of the Blutsauger. Battlemedics are often looked down upon by teammates, as Medics are expected to fulfill their role as a Support class.

Bodyshot / Bodyshotting

An attack where a Sniper kills a player by shooting him in the body with a Sniper Rifle. Sometimes a player may deliberately go for a bodyshot because it is more reliable than attempting a headshot. Bodyshotting is often looked down upon by players as it appears to require less skill than a headshot.

Bodyshotter

A Sniper that repeatedly bodyshots to intentionally irritate the enemy.

Slang for the Sydney Sleeper, since the weapon can't deal headshot criticals.

Bomb

Synonym for the Cart in Payload modes.

BRB

Acronym for "Be Right Back".

Buff

Term meaning a change in the status of something, which can include:

1. A Medic's Overhealing ability, or the state of a player being overhealed (e.g. player has been "buffed"),
2. Slang for a weapon or item's game mechanics being improved or made stronger (antonym: nerf),
3. A charged Buff Banner or Battalion's Backup deployed for use by the team.

Bunny hopping / bhopping

An Exploit common to most Source games where a player can use timed jumps and a specific rotation to move faster than normal. This has been fixed in the Orange Box engine.

Bushwhacking

Term for killing a Jarate-covered opponent with the Bushwacka.

C

Camping / Spawn Camping

See Camping.

Cap / Capping / Capped

Short for "Capture," "Capturing," and "Captured," respectively. Refers to the completion of an objective such as a Control Point capture or returning the enemy's Intelligence to one's base.

Carpets / Sticky Carpets

Large groups of Sticky Bombs that render certain areas impassable until dealt with.

Chaincap

Capturing the next point immediately after the previous point has been captured.

Cheap

An adjective applied to a tactic that is effective but requires little skill or effort.

Chievements / Chieves

Slang term for Achievements.

Circle Strafe

See Circle strafe.

Clean

Refers to the tradability of an item. If an Item is clean it can be freely traded. See Trading

Courtyard

Map-specific to 2Fort. Refers to the large area that connects the Hayroom, Downstairs, Straight, and Long Hallway in both bases.

Crit(s)

Abbreviation of Critical hit.

Crocket

Portmanteau of a Critical hit Rocket.

D

DC / D/C

Synonym for "disconnected" or "disconnect".

Demo

May refer to:

1. A Demoman,
2. A demo recording.

Demoknight

A Demoman wielding the Chargin' Targe whilst actively using their melee weapon; commonly the Eyelander , Scotsman's Skullcutter or Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker. Demoknights wielding the Bottle may be referred to as Bottleknights.

DH

Acronym for the Soldier's Direct Hit unlock.

DM / DeathMatch

An unofficial game mode wherein the main goal is to kill the most players. May also refer to a map running Control Point or Capture the Flag, but has had the required entities removed or placed out of reach. Also used to refer to Arena mode.

Dirty

Refers to the tradability of an Item. If an Item is dirty it cannot be freely traded and instead requires Gift Wrap to transfer it. See Trading

DR

Acronym for the Spy's Dead Ringer unlock. In some contexts, it could also be a signal to their team members that an enemy Spy equipped with the Dead Ringer is nearby.

Drop

May refer to:

1. Any item given to a player by the Drop System.
2. The failure of a Medic to use a full ÜberCharge before dying.

E

Engie / Engy / Engi

Abbreviation for the Engineer.

F

Facestab

A Spy's knife attack that registers as a backstab despite appearing to hit their opponent's front due to Lag compensation.

See also: Backstab: Issues.

Failstab

A knife attack that registers as a normal hit, despite being aimed at an opponent's back due to Lag compensation.

FAN / FaN

Acronym for the Scout's Force-A-Nature unlock.

Farming

The act of obtaining something more rapidly over time than was originally intended. Could refer to:

1. Obtaining achievements en masse,
2. Using idling or other methods to obtain hats or weapons via the item drop system.

Flag

Synonym for the Intelligence in Capture the Flag maps.

G

G.R.U

Acronym for the Gloves of Running Urgently melee weapon unlock used by the Heavy.

Griefing

Causing grief or annoying other players for fun.

Also see Griefing.

H

Halo-caust

A slang term used to reference the September 2, 2009 event where Valve penalized players who had been using Steamstats to idle. The term is derived from the nickname for the halo that non-offending players received, placed in combination with a reference to the Holocaust.

Hayroom

Map-specific to 2Fort. Refers to the room in front of the primary resupply/spawn room for both teams. So named because it contains little more than Hay.

HHHH

An abbreviation for the Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker (sometimes seen as "UHHHH", noting the Unusual rarity of the item.)

HLDJ/HLSS

Programs used to play music and other sounds via voice chat. Often used for mic spamming. Half Life D.J. (Disc Jockey) and Half Life Sound System respectively.

Huntspam / Lucksman / Arrow Spam

Terms used to describe players who use the Huntsman weapon unlock for the Sniper. Its 'lucky' qualities are attributed to the arrow's projectile hitbox.

H.W.G / HWGuy

Acronym for Heavy Weapons Guy.

I

Idler

May refer to:

1. Someone who is present on the server but is deliberately AFK for a long period of time to earn items via the item drop system,
2. Someone who uses external idling programs or uses idling servers for the same purpose.

Instakill

A kill which is inflicted in a single hit, such as out-of-bounds fall damage, being hit by a Train or being caught in the Payload explosion.

Intel

Abbreviation for the Intelligence "flag" in Capture the Flag maps.

J

Juggling

See Juggling.

K

KDR / (K/D) / KADR

Acronym for "Kill-death ratio" or "Kill Assist Death Ratio". May be expressed as a ratio ("27 Kills:7 Deaths") or a decimal number ("1.75 KDR"). Medics will often present their KDR as a ratio of Assists to Deaths, as kills are not usually accumulated in conventional Medic play.

K.G.B

Acronym for the Killing Gloves of Boxing.

Kitchen Warrior

A Soldier wearing a Stainless Pot with the Frying Pan equipped.

Knock back / Knockback

An effect from weapons that knock back opponents.

See Knock back

Kritcharge / Kritz / Kritzed

Slang for a Kritzkrieg's ÜberCharge, or being subjected to one.

L

Lag

The effect experienced by players who display erratic movement due to poor framerates or server connection.

See Lag compensation.

Leeching

A Disguised Spy gaining health from an enemy Medic, Dispenser or Payload cart.

LF

Acronym for "Looking For" indicating that a player is looking for a particular item or a Clan/Team.

M

Meatshot

When all of the pellets fired from spread weapons such as the Shotgun or Scattergun hit the target, thereby doing massive damage. The term was made famous by Daniel "carnagejohnson" Sturdivant.

Mic / Mike

A microphone, used for communication over voice chat.

Micspam

The act of repeatedly playing sounds, music, or generally abusing the game's voice chat feature. This may involve:

1. Using external software to stream sound files,
2. Creating noise by singing, blowing into the microphone, or simply talking incessantly in order to disrupt others

This is generally considered griefing, and is frowned upon. However, some servers, known as "Micspam Servers", welcome this, allowing players to play music clips to entertain the server population.

N

Nades

Abbreviation of "grenades," referring to the projectiles fired from the Demoman's Grenade Launcher.

Nerf

A term used to describe a weapon or item that has been downgraded, or had its capabilities reduced. Typically weapons are "nerfed" for gameplay balance reasons (i.e., the item is significantly overpowered, or provides too great an advantage over other players). (antonym: buff)

Nest

The collectivized area of an Engineer and his buildings.

Ninja

Colloquial of stealing something; generally a Capture Point, or a typed response.

See also: Back-capping

N00b / Noob / Nub / Newb / Newbie

A derogatory term used to imply that a player is new to the game and/or unskilled. "Noob" and its homophones are generally considered to be more offensive, denoting someone with a lack of skill attributable to a deeper level than simple inexperience. "Newb" however, may be used by an individual when describing themselves, or as a non-offensive description of a new player who, although lacking experience, is willing to learn from more experienced players.

O

OMGWTFBBQ

An Internet acronym expressing great shock and amazement. A combination of "Oh my god" (OMG) and "What the fuck" (WTF), two exclamations that are often said in tandem, with "Barbecue" (BBQ) added in order to make a set of three three-syllable, three-symbol acronyms. Also the name of a Pyro achievement that often results in a surprised exclamation from the victim of the Hadouken.

OP

Acronym for "overpowered", in reference to game balance.

Owned / Pwned

A term applied to a player that has been defeated in an humiliating fashion.

P

Pipebomb / Pipes

An alternate name for the projectiles fired by the Demoman's Grenade Launcher.

Piss

Slang for the Sniper's Jarate unlock.

Pocket

Most often used in conjunction with a class type (e.g., "Pocket Medic" or "Pocket Pyro"), the term describes a player who is focusing support to a single other teammate. The term, often used in the context of "Pocketing", references the idea of taking the supporting player, putting them in your pocket, and carrying them around with you. Pocketing is a normal part of competitive play. (See: Roamer)

Poof / Poofing / Puff

Slang for the Pyro's compression blast ability.

Poofer

Term for the normal Flamethrower which has the compression blast ability (see above).

Poor and Irish

A description used for a player who does not own any hats, coined by the Gentle Manne of Leisure in a hidden update page.

Pub

Abbreviation for "public server".

Pubber

A derogatory term for a player that frequents public servers as opposed to competitive ones.

Pub Stomp

A practice in which multiple experienced or competitive players join a public server with the intention of winning in a spectacular fashion, often as a means of displaying dominance.

Puff'n'Sting

A technique whereby a Pyro lights an enemy on fire with the Flamethrower, uses the compression blast to shove them against a wall (the 'puff'), and then switches to the Axtinguisher for the kill (the 'sting'). This is especially powerful because of the guaranteed Critical hit provided when the Axtinguisher is used on an enemy that is on fire. This technique is also commonly used with the Powerjack.

R

Rage

May refer to:

1. The "Rage" meter a Soldier builds up when using the Buff Banner or Battalion's Backup unlock.
2. When a player becomes angry while playing (see Ragequit).

Ragequit

Slang for a player disconnecting from a server, presumably out of frustration, anger, or humiliation associated with a losing streak.

Rambo Medic

See Battlemedic.

Revving

Spinning up the Heavy's Minigun using the alternate-fire button. May also refer to the delay experienced when the Minigun is spun up prior to shooting using the primary-fire button.

RTD / Roll The Dice

An unofficial server plugin that allows players to "Roll the Dice" using a command. Upon rolling the dice, players are granted some form of benefit or handicap, such as unlimited Crits or being frozen in place for a short period of time respectively.

RTV / Rock The Vote

In servers running an RTV plug-in, Rocking the Vote occurs when a majority of the players on the server vote to play a different map.

Rush

See Rush.

Revengineer

An Engineer with the Frontier Justice and the Gunslinger equipped.

S

Scoutrush

A Rush making use of entirely Scouts.

Sentry / SG / Sentry Gun / Gun / Turret

An Engineer's Sentry Gun.

Sidestab

An alternate name for Spinstab.

Solly

A Soldier.

Spamming / Spam

Can refer to:

1. The act of deliberately concentrating firepower within particular area in an attempt to get kills or deter enemy players from entering an area
2. Wanton firing of weapons such as the Grenade Launcher with little or no deliberate aim
3. An unwanted abundance of something such as chat messages, a specific class, or a certain tactic in the game, the latter sometimes called "whoring."

See Spamming.

Spawn

The area in which you initially spawn and/or any area in which you respawn.

Spawn Camping / Spawn-camping

A situation in which one team is camping the other team's spawn point, which results in killing players as they attempting to enter or depart. Commonly considered to be a "cheap" tactic.

See Camping.

Spec

Abbreviation for Spectate.

Spiral

Map-specific to 2Fort. Refers to the Spiral-shaped corridor leading down from the Hayroom towards the Intelligence area.

Spy Cap/Spycap

A strategy where a Spy will lurk near a locked control point (usually the final point because of the accelerated control point timing) with the intentions of capturing it as soon as it is unlocked and before the enemy team has time to retreat from defending the previous point.

Spy Checking

The act of "checking" teammates and/or a specific area for Spies. It usually refers to Pyros attempting to detect enemy Spies by using the Flamethrower on other members of their team, but Spy Checking can also be done by other classes by firing upon your teammates.

See Spy-checking.

Spy Crab

A Spy that imitates the movement of a crab by crouching and looking up while having the Disguise Kit equipped. Also refers to a taunt associated with the Disguise Kit.

Spyro

Portmanteau for a Spy disguised as a Pyro.

SR / SCO-RES / Sco Res

Acronym for the Demoman's Scottish Resistance.

Stab'n'Sap

Slang for a technique whereby a Spy Backstabs an Engineer from behind, then immediately switches to the Electro Sapper and saps the Engineer's Sentry Gun before it kills him.

Stacking / Team-Stacking

Refers to one team being composed of players who work together and/or are more skilled than the other. The most common case is a public server, notorious for their lack of teamwork, has one team of competitive players.

Stairstab / Jumpstab

The act of jumping over another player's head from an elevated height as a Spy, and Backstabbing them before they can respond.

Steam-rolling

Used to describe an unfair match-up between teams that are of completely different skill levels, resulting in quick rounds. Similar to Stacking.

Stickies

Slang for Sticky Bombs.

Straight

Map-specific to 2Fort. Refers to the straight staircase leading down to the third resupply room. Sometimes referred to as L-shaft.

Sword and Board

Another name for Demoknight. It refers to a Demoman who uses the Chargin' Targe and the Eyelander at the same time.

T

Tele / TP

Abbreviation for an Engineer's Teleporter.

Telefrag

Portmanteau of Teleport and Frag -- killing a opponent by teleporting into them when they are standing on a teleporter exit. The term comes from the early days of online deathmatches in id Software's seminal first-person shooter Quake (video game).

Turtling

Digging in and employing extremely defensive tactics. May also refer to Engineer setting up a Sentry Gun and Dispenser next to each other, and then remaining in close proximity for a substantial period of time while constantly repairing the buildings.

Typefrag

Killing an opponent that is typing in chat. Also known as a typekill.

U

Über / Invuln / Charge

Abbreviation for ÜberCharge.

Übered

Someone who is being ÜberCharged.

UHHHH

An abbreviation for the Unusual Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker (sometimes seen as just "HHHH").

UP

Acronym for "underpowered", in reference to game balance.

W

W+M1

Literally, "Forward (Default key "W") and Mouse 1" - a derogatory term applied to a suicidally aggressive Pyro, often connotative of a lack of skill.

W+M2

Literally, "Forward (Default key "W") and Mouse 2" - derived from W+M1, the term is similarly used to refer to Pyro players who only use the Compression Blast ability to reflect projectiles, without using the Flamethrower's primary fire attack.

Wallhugging

Tactical slang for a Sniper hiding behind walls and only revealing himself when attacking.

Wrenching

The act of repairing / upgrading a building with your Wrench.

May also be used to refer to the act of killing a Spy.

WTB

Acronym for "Want To Buy" or "Willing to Buy", indicating that a player is seeking a particular item.

WTS

Acronym for "Want To Sell" or "Willing to Sell", indicating that a player is selling a particular item.

WTT

Acronym for "Want To Trade" or "Willing to Trade", indicating that a player has a particular item trade in mind.

Competitive Terminology

These are some of the terms which players use in competitive gameplay.

B

Blandlands

Shortened as "Blands", a term used by players referring to Badlands. This is only used by players not wishing to play the map, commonly because they have probably played the map a number of times in a short space of time.

Bombing

A derogatory term referring to when a Soldier rocket jumps above the enemy and shoots at the Medic in order to either force ÜberCharge or to get him killed.

C

Comms

Short for Communication. This refers to players communicating to each other either by using the in-game text chat or through Voice Chat or, more commonly, an outside voice over IP (VoIP) program such as Mumble or Ventrilo.

E

ETF2L

Acronym for European Team Fortress 2 League. It is the central hub of the European Competitive TF2 scene.

See ETF2L.

G

G-Pit

Shortened for Gravel Pit.

Granlands

Refers to the two most popular maps used in competitive play: Badlands and Granary. This term is usually used in PuGs when the teams agree to play two maps, E.g. "Which maps did you guys want to do?", "Granlands?", "Sure".

L

Lit

To be low on health. Commonly used when referring to opponents, although priority friendly classes such as the Demoman and pocket will use this term when calling for a Medic.

See also "Tagged".

Lobby

Refers to the website TF2Lobby. A popular website used to organize pickup games.

P

Pocket

The player that defends the Medic and is their primary healing target.

Pop

A synonym for "use an Über"; for example the phrase "They popped" means "They used their Über." Can also be used in phrases such as "Pop the Über" or "Pop it!"

PUG/Mix

Antonym for "Pick Up Game/Group", referring to a private game with team compositions determined by out-of-game communication (as opposed to a clan match or pub).

R

Roamer

Refers to the Soldier that is not pocketing the Medic. Roamer's typical primary mission is to take out the enemy Medic.

Rollout

The specific path that a player takes on the way to the middle Capture Point. It is designed to get the player to that point as quickly as possible or to provide another strategic advantage.

S

Scrim / Skirmish

A practice match between two teams. Usually played in the competitive 6v6 format or the 9v9 highlander format.

Steamroll

Sometimes referred to simply as a "roll", the term is figurative language describing a very fast completion of the the game's objective after it begins, often in relation to a "crushing defeat".

Sticks

Refers to Sticky Bombs. Usually used to warn teammates of a sticky trap or that they are on an important location. E.g., "Sticks on cap!" meaning "There are stickies on the control point!".

T

Tagged

When an enemy has been severely hit with a single shot, usually shots dealing damage of 60hp and above, e.g. "The Medic is tagged for 70", meaning the enemy Medic has taken 70 damage.

See also "Lit".

External links

• Internet slang on Wiktionary
• urbandictionary.com