Gaming terminology glossary – Find out what every gaming term means

The ultimate gaming glossary

AA - In the gaming world, this usually refers to "aim assist," which is a feature mostly found on controllers that helps players aim their weapons
AAA - Pronounced "Triple A," this refers to a developer or publisher of a game that has a lot of employees and a large net worth
ADS - Stands for "aim down sights," used when talking about weapons
AFK - Stands for "away from keyboard"
Aggro - Stands for "aggressive," usually used when players are going to recklessly fight an enemy or attract enemy attention
AoE - Stands for "area of effect," a term that's utilized when talking about an attack that deals damage over a large space

Balance - Usually refers to the power balance of a certain weapon, character, or item in a game
BM - Stands for "bad manners," used when talking about a player's bad behavior in-game
BRB - Stands for "be right back"
Bug - Refers to an in-game malfunction that the developers need to fix
Bots - This can refer to actual AI enemies, or players use the term to disparage another player for playing poorly
Buff - Refers to a weapon, character, or item getting stronger, usually through an update
Bullet sponge - Refers to a player or enemy that takes a lot of bullets or damage to kill

Camp(ing) - Refers to a player or enemy that doesn't move from a position in an attempt to get kills on unsuspecting players
Cheesing - Refers to trying to defeat a player or enemy through unconvential and exploitative methods
CC - Stands for "crowd control," a term that refers to controlling a large group of enemies with a certain action
Casual - A term that players call others if a player doesn't know much about a game
Co-op - Stands for "cooperative," usually refers to a game or game mode that can be played with two or more players
CPU - Stands for "central processing unit," can either refer to a PC component or an in-game, AI opponent
CTF - Stands for "Capture the Flag"
Cooldown - Refers to an action in-game that requires a period of time before it can be used again
Crossplay - Refers to the ability to play with players on another platform

DPS - Stands for "damage per second," can refer to a weapon stat or an in-game role in shooters or RPGs
DLC - Stands for "downloadable content"
Drops - Refers to items that enemies drop when they are killed
Debuff - A term that comes up when a player has been hit by an attack and some of their stats are reduced

Easter egg - Refers to a hidden item in-game
Endgame - Refers to the final stretch of a game or post-story content

FPS - Stands for "first-person shooter" or "frames per second"
F2P - Stands for "free to play"
FF - Stands for "forfeit"
FOV - Stands for "field of view"
Farming - Refers to a player continually getting the same item over and over
Frag - The term used for a timed grenade
Fragging - Refers to when a player is consistently getting a bunch of kills or getting the first kill in a round

GG - Stands for "good game"
GG 2 EZ - Stands for "good game, too easy"
GG NO RE - Stands for "good game, no rematch"
G2G - Stands for "got to go"
GPU - Stands for "graphics processing unit," refers to a PC component
GOAT - Stands for "greatest of all time"
GLHF - Stands for "good luck have fun"
Grind(ing) - Refers to a long process to complete a task or receive a certain item
Grief(ing) - Refers to players messing with other players, particularly new players to a game
Glitch - A malfunction in a game

HP - Stands for "hitpoints"
HUD - Stands for "heads up display"
Hacking - Refers to cheating in a game or using certain exploits
Hitscan - Refers to a weapon that can hit enemies without needing to account for bullet drop, wind, etc.
Hit box - Refers to an enemy's invisible damage area where they can be hit

Indie - Refers to a game that was/is developed by a small team with a little budget

JRPG - Stands for "Japanese role-playing game," a genre of games
Juggling - Refers to an in-game action that sees players keeping an enemy in the air with constant hits

KDR - Stands for "kill death ratio"
Kick(ing) - Refers to when a player is removed from a match
KO - Stands for "knockout"

Loadout - Refers to the weapons, equipment, and other items that make up a player's kit
Lag(ging) - Refers to when a player or game server isn't functioning properly
Loot - The items that you can receive from opening chests or killing enemies

MMORPG - Stands for "massively multiplayer online role-playing game"
MOBA - Stands for "multiplayer online battle arena"
Meta - Refers to the current best weapons, characters, items, etc. in a game
MP - Stands for "multiplayer" or "magic points"
Mana - Refers to magic points in a game
Mob - The same type of enemies in a game
Mod - An add-on for a game that adds some sort of extra content made by the community
Min-max(ing) - A term used in RPGs that players use to optimize their character by maximizing a specific build's elements

NPC - Stands for "non-playable character"
Nerf - Refers to when a developer weakens a weapon, character, item, etc.
Noob - Refers to a new player in a game
Noob tube - A weapon that has a grenade launcher
NG + - Stands for "new game plus," which is a mode that opens in games after you beat the main story

OP - Stands for "overpowered"
OHK - Stands for "one hit kill"

PVP - Stands for "player vs player" combat
PVE - Stands for "player vs environment" combat
Ping - Refers to a player's connection to the game server
Patch - A small or large update in a game
Party - A group of players who are playing a match or game in the same lobby
PWN - A term that's used when a player handily defeats another player

QTE - Stands for "quick time event"

RPG - Stands for "role playing game"
RAM - Stands for "random access memory," which is a PC component
RNG - Stands for "random number generator," which refers to luck in a game
RP - Stands for "role playing"
Res - Short for "resurrection"
Rage quit - Refers to when a player quickly leaves a match

SSD - Stands for "solid state drive," a PC component used to download games and files
Smurf - A term used to describe a player who is playing in a ranked match well below their skill level
Speedrun - Refers to finishing a game as quickly as possible
Skins - Refers to cosmetics in-game

Tank - A role in shooters or RPGs that refers to a player who takes a lot of damage
Troll - A player who purposely makes mistakes or antagonizes other players

Unlock - Anything you can receive in a game that's not given to you by default

VR - Stands for "virtual reality"

WOW - Stands for "World of Warcraft," a popular MMORPG
Whiff - Refers to a player missing shots

XP - Stands for "experience," points you gain for completing actions