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 of player terms 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 dropping or falling behind a player and backstabbing them as a Spy.

Airblast/Compblast

Slang for Pyro's compression blast ability.

Also used somewhat derisively to refer to Offblast, on which the killing potential of the compression blast is substantially higher than normal.

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.

Battle Medic

A Medic that focuses on killing opponents rather than healing his teammates, likely making use of the Blutsauger. Battle Medics that do not supplement fighting with healing, or are otherwise unhelpful to the team effort, are often looked down upon by teammates, as Medics are often instead 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 requires 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 maps.

BRB

Acronym for "Be Right Back".

Buff

A 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, Battalion's Backup, or Concheror deployed for use by the team.

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 Stickybombs 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 tradeability of an item. If an Item is clean it can be freely traded. See Trading.

Cornering

Fighting at a dangerous target by strafing out of cover, firing, then strafing back into cover, generally at a corner. Used against Sentry Guns in particular, as they take time to aim and will reset when a player is out of view.

Courtyard

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

CP

Short for control point.

Crit(s)

Abbreviation of critical hit(s).

Crocket/Crawket

Portmanteau of a critical hit rocket.

D

DC/D/C

Synonym for "disconnected" or "disconnect".

Demo

May refer to:

1. The Demoman,
2. A demo recording.

Demoknight

A Demoman wielding the Chargin' Targe or Splendid Screen whilst actively using their melee weapon; commonly the Eyelander, Half-Zatoichi, Persian Persuader, Scotsman's Skullcutter, or Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker. These are often referred to as "Targelanders". Demoknights wielding the Bottle may be referred to as "Bottleknights".

Demopan

A Demoman carrying the Frying Pan, Bounty Hat, Chargin' Targe, and Dangeresque, Too?, referring to a popular community fad

DH

Acronym for the Soldier's Direct Hit unlock.

DM/DeathMatch

An unofficial game mode where 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 item drop system,
2. The failure of a Medic to deploy an ÜberCharge before dying despite being fully charged.

E

Edging

Shooting at the exposed portion of a Sentry Gun which cannot technically see the player. Often done around corners or from lower surfaces.

Engie/Engy/Engi

Abbreviation for the Engineer.

Engy Farm / Sentry Farm

Slang Used to describe a position where one or more Engineers have set up multiple Buildings or Sentry Guns.

Engy Turtling

Slang used to describe a situation where a significant number of players choose to play as Engineer and employ particularly defensive tactics, such as multiple Sentry Guns guarding the Intelligence. Mostly used derogatively.

F

F2P

May refer to:

1. Acronym for the Free to Play update,
2. A term used to describe new players who have yet to upgrade to a Premium account.

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.

Fail-A-Nature

A derogatory term for the Scout's Force-A-Nature unlock, and/or players who use it.

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 in masses,
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.

Flying Scotsman

A Demoman who wields and actively uses the Sticky Jumper in a multiplayer server.

FoW

An abbreviation for the Fan O'War, released in the Shogun Pack.

Frag

Used as a replacement for kill, however, it more commonly is used if the victim is gibbed; also used to refer to video compilations of kills, i.e., frag videos.

G

G.R.U./GRU

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

Griefing

Causing grief or annoying other players for fun.

See Griefing.

Goomba Stomp

A term used when a player (usually Scout) jumps off an enemy's head.

H

Hale

An abbreviation used for Saxton Hale in the VS Saxton Hale game mode.

Halo-caust

A slang term used to reference the September 2, 2009 event where Valve penalized players who had been using Steamstats to idle. As a result, many servers (primarily those ran by people that didn't get halos) began opting "anti-halo" policies, even going so far as to use mods that changed the halo to form various insults targeting the wearer. 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.

HHH

An abbreviation for the Horseless Headless Horsemann.

HHH Axe

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.

Hoovie/Hoovy

Slang term for Heavy, often used in a silly manner.

Huntspam/Lucksman/Cuntsman

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 and travel time over long distances.

HUWAR/HOUWAR

An abbreviation for the Hat of Undeniable Wealth And Respect.

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

Juggling is the use of weapons to suspend enemies in the air.

See Juggling.

K

Katana

Term refers to the Half-Zatoichi, released with the Shogun Pack, which can be wielded by the Soldier and Demoman alike.

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./K.G.B.

Acronym for the Killing Gloves of Boxing.

Kitchen Warrior

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

Knock back/Knockback

An effect from weapons that knock backs opponents.

See Knock back

Kritcharge/Kritz/Kritzed

Slang for the 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.

LF

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

Lowball

To propose a relatively lower-valued offer when trading items.

M

Macro/Macros

Using a key bind, .cfg file (see scripting), or external program to automate an in-game process to make it faster or easier. While examples can be auto-rocket jump or auto re-disguise as Spy scripts, the term "macro" usually refers to the use of such scripts to quickly say a chat message without typing it. Can be useful for quick communication with the team, i.e. pressing 'b' states "Lets capture control point B".

Marked

Used to signal teammates that an enemy has been hit by the Fan O'War and is now receiving mini-crits.

The Red Heavy is marked!

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.

Mid

A shortening of "middle control point". Used on 5 point Control Point maps.

Micspam

Originally described as the act of repeatedly playing sounds, music, or generally abusing the game's voice chat feature, it has since grown to include all manner of sound playing, both positively and negatively. Third party software is often used to accomplish this, such as HLDJ. Micspam is generally considered griefing by many, and many servers follow strict policies against it. However, some servers, known as "Micspam Servers", welcome this, allowing players to entertain the server population and share their audio collections during regular play. Some positive aspects of micspam may involve:

1. Playing various music for the server, such as Queen and Michael Jackson.
2. Playing comedic scenes from TV shows, movies, standup acts, and more.
3. Playing appropriate sound files on specific occasions for humorous effect, e.g. playing "Guile's Theme" when a team wins/loses.

While some negative uses of micspam include:

1. Repeatedly playing the same audio file to intentionally cause annoyance
2. Playing sounds that are high in bass/volume and can potentially damage other people's speakers
3. Creating noise by singing, blowing into the microphone, or simply talking incessantly in order to disrupt others

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)

Engineer Nest

The collectivized area of an Engineer and his buildings placed close together.

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-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 "Over Powered", in reference to game balance.

Owned/Pwned

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

P

Pimp Hat

Slang term for the Hustler's Hallmark hat for the Demoman

Pipebomb/Pipes

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

Pills

Another alternative name for the projectiles fired by the Demoman's Grenade Launcher.

Piss

Slang for the Sniper's Jarate unlock.

Pissrifle

Slang for the Sniper's Sydney Sleeper unlock.

Pit

Slang for the final area in Badwater Basin. So called as the final approach that the bomb has to travel is descending into a large pit.

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 a pocket, and carrying them around. Pocketing is often used as a negative term in public play because of the Pocket's tendency to ignore other players that may need healing, while it is considered a normal part of competitive play because of the smaller team sizes and the strategies that involve it.

(See: Roamer)

Puff

Slang for the Pyro's compression blast ability.

Poor and Irish

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

Pub

Abbreviation for "public server", or alternatively someone who is not a part of a server's clan, but still plays on it.

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'Flare

A variation on the 'Puff'n'Sting (see below), but with the follow up completed with the Flare Gun and not the Axtinguisher.

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.

Pyrocar

The prevalence of "W+M1" players led one canny player to take it to the next level by playing the game with a Steering Wheel Controller. Later dubbed "the Pyrocar", the term led to a viral video about it.

Q

QQ

A slang originating from Warcraft 2 where 'alt'+'Q'+'Q' would quit the client, but is nowadays interpreted as a pair of crying eyes. Often used in a deriding manner, e.g. "QQ more".

See BarbeQueQ.

R

Rage

May refer to:

1. The "Rage" meter a Soldier builds up when using the Buff Banner, Battalion's Backup, or Concheror 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 Battle Medic.

Random Crits

Commonly used description to describe when the game has gifted a player a period of, or single critical hits. Used both as an acknowledgement and in frustration when a fight may be over somewhat prematurely ("Sorry, man! Random crits!")

Reflects / Reflect Kill / Reflecting

An alternative term for successful use of the Pyro's Compression Blast.

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 both the Frontier Justice and Gunslinger equipped.

S

Scoutrush

A rush making use of entirely Scouts.

Scoot

Slang term for Scout, often used in a silly fasion. (similar to "Hoovy")

Scrapbank

Refers to players who store and offer Scrap Metals for any 2 unwanted item from other players.

Sentry/SG/Sentry Gun/Gun/Turret

An Engineer's Sentry Gun.

Sentry Farm

A position on a map where multiple Engineers have set up their Sentry Guns in close proximity.

Sidestab

An alternate name for a spinstab.

Solly

Slang for the 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 the player initially spawns and/or any area in which they 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.

Spire

Map-specific to Badlands. Refers to the rock spire where the second and fourth control points sit.

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/Spycheck

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 teammates.

See Spy checking.

Spycrab/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.

Spygineer

Template:W for a Spy disguised as a Engineer.

Spyro

Template:W for a Spy disguised as a Pyro.

SR/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 on a public server, having one team of competitive or skilled players against one that is less experienced or poorly organized.

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 Stickybombs.

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 both the Chargin' Targe and Eyelander at the same time.

T

Tele/TP

Abbreviation for an Engineer's Teleporter.

Telefrag

Template:W of teleport and frag – killing an opponent by teleporting into them when they are standing on a teleporter exit. The term comes from id Software's seminal first-person shooter Template:W. May have been taken from the Developer console referring to the kill as a telefrag.

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/Typekill

Killing an opponent that is typing in chat.

Trolling

Trolling is an inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic message in an online chat, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.

Troll

A troll is an internet user who posts rude or provocational posts in chats, which insults its users.

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 "Under Powered", in reference to game balance.

V

Vanilla

A loadout consisting entirely of Stock weapons.

A server without any mods installed.

V. [Hat/Weapon]

Vintage items

W

W+M1

Literally, "Forward (Default key W) and MOUSE1" - a derogatory term applied to a suicidally aggressive Pyro, often connotative of a lack of skill.

W+M2

Literally, "Forward (Default key W) and MOUSE2" - 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 the Wrench.

The act of killing a Spy with the Wrench.

Wep

Abbreviation for weapon, used in trading discussion.

WTB

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

WTS

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

WTT

Acronym for "Want/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".

H

Highlander

A competitive match type wherein the nine player roster of each team consists of one of every TF2 class.

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.

O

Offclassing

A technique involving deviation from the standard competitive class roster, often to accomplish a specific objective or eliminate a specific enemy player.

P

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 game's objective after it begins, often in relation to a "crushing defeat".

Sticks

Refers to Stickybombs. 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