Gaming Slang Abbreviations
145 abbreviations · part of Texting & Internet Slang Abbreviations
Abbreviations typed in game chat, voice channels, Discord servers and streaming communities, from sportsmanship terms such as GG and GLHF to mechanics (DPS, AOE, RNG), match types (PvP, FFA, TDM), stats (K/D, MMR), trading shorthand and tabletop role-playing terms. Many began in 1990s MUDs, MMORPGs and LAN-party shooters before spreading through esports and Twitch. Entries explain what each term means in play, which games or genres it comes from and whether it is friendly, competitive or toxic.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1337 | Leet (elite) | Leetspeak spelling of "elite," and by extension the name of the writing style that replaces letters with similar-looking numbers or symbols, such as 3 for E and 7 for T. |
| 1V1 | One versus one | Match or challenge between two players, as in "1v1 me," often used as a dare to settle who is better. |
| AA | Auto attack | Basic attack a character performs automatically on a target without using abilities, central to MOBAs and MMORPGs. |
| AC | Armor Class | Number representing how hard a character is to hit in Dungeons & Dragons and other d20 games; an attack roll must meet or beat it to land. |
| AD | Attack damage | Physical damage stat in League of Legends and similar games, boosted by weapons and items, as opposed to AP (ability power). |
| ADC | Attack damage carry | Ranged physical-damage role in League of Legends, usually played in the bottom lane with a support, that becomes the team's main damage source later in the game. |
| ADS | Aim down sights | Raising a weapon to look through its iron sights or scope for more accurate shooting, at the cost of slower movement and a narrower view. |
| AFK | Away from keyboard | Indicates that a player or user is not at their computer or controller and cannot respond. |
| Alt | Alternate character | Secondary character a player creates on the same account or server, distinct from their "main." Used to try other classes, store items or play with different friends. |
| Any% | Any percent (speedrun category) | Speedrun category in which the goal is to finish a game as fast as possible by any means, regardless of how much of it is completed. |
| AOE | Area of effect | Ability, spell or attack that hits every target within an area rather than a single target, such as an explosion, fire field or healing circle. |
| AP | Ability power | Magic damage stat in League of Legends that increases the strength of abilities, contrasted with AD (attack damage). |
| APM | Actions per minute | Number of commands, clicks and keystrokes a player issues per minute, a measure of mechanical speed in real-time strategy games and other fast-paced esports. |
| ATK | Attack | Stat representing a character's offensive power, especially in Japanese RPGs, gacha games and Pokémon-style systems. |
| BBEG | Big bad evil guy | Main villain of a tabletop RPG campaign, the enemy behind the overall plot whom players usually confront at the end. |
| BIS | Best in slot | The best possible item for a particular equipment slot for a given class, role or build, as in "BIS trinket." Players chase BIS gear to maximize performance. |
| BM | Bad manners | Unsportsmanlike behavior in a match, such as spamming emotes after a kill, teabagging (crouching repeatedly over a defeated player), taunting in chat or dragging out a… |
| BO3 | Best of three | Match format in which the first player or team to win two games takes the series. |
| BP | Battle pass | Tiered reward system unlocked by playing during a season, usually with a free track and a paid premium track. |
| CC | Crowd control | Abilities that limit an enemy's actions, such as stuns, slows, roots, silences and knock-ups. |
| CD | Cooldown | Waiting time before an ability, item or spell can be used again after activation, shown as a timer on its icon. "On CD" means unavailable; "off CD" means ready. |
| CHA | Charisma | Ability score measuring force of personality, persuasion and presence in Dungeons & Dragons, used for deception and intimidation checks and as the spellcasting stat for… |
| Co-op | Cooperative | Business owned and democratically controlled by its members, who may be its customers, workers or producers, typically on a one-member, one-vote basis, with surplus… |
| CON | Constitution | Ability score measuring health, stamina and toughness in Dungeons & Dragons, adding to hit points and saving throws against poison and exhaustion. |
| CS | Creep score | Number of minions (creeps) a player has killed in a MOBA, the main source of gold in lanes. |
| CTF | Capture the flag | Objective-based game mode in which teams try to steal the enemy's flag from its base and return it to their own while defending their flag. |
| DC | Disconnect | Means a player has lost their connection to a game server, voluntarily or not, as in "jungler dc'd" or "sorry, I dc'd." Used as a verb and a noun. |
| DEF | Defense | Stat that reduces damage taken from attacks, shown alongside ATK, HP and SPD in many RPGs and gacha games. |
| DEX | Dexterity | Ability score measuring agility, reflexes and balance in Dungeons & Dragons and many RPGs, affecting ranged attacks, initiative, stealth and armor class. |
| DKP | Dragon kill points | Loot-distribution system used by raiding guilds in which members earn points for attending raids and spend them to bid on items. |
| DLC | Downloadable content | Additional content for a game delivered online after release, such as new levels, story expansions, characters, outfits or weapons. |
| DM | Dungeon master | Person who runs a Dungeons & Dragons game, describing the world, playing all non-player characters, setting challenges and applying the rules for the other players. |
| DOT | Damage over time | Effect that deals damage repeatedly over a set period, such as poison, burning or bleeding, rather than in a single hit. |
| DPS | Damage per second | Measure of how much damage a character, weapon or ability deals over time, and by extension the role of a damage-focused character in a team, as in "we need one more… |
| EA | Early access | Release stage in which players can buy and play an unfinished game while it is still in development, giving feedback and funding progress. |
| Elo | Elo rating system | Skill-rating method that adjusts players' scores after each game depending on the result and the opponent's rating. |
| EZ | Easy | Boast that a win or task was effortless, often typed after victory as a taunt. |
| F2P | Free-to-play | Business model in which a game can be downloaded and played without paying, with revenue coming from optional purchases such as cosmetics, passes or currency. |
| FC | Friend code | Unique number used to add friends on Nintendo consoles and some mobile games instead of a username. |
| FF | Forfeit (surrender) | Calls for a team to surrender a match early, especially in League of Legends, where "/ff" starts a surrender vote. |
| FFA | Free-for-all | Game mode in which every player competes against everyone else, with no teams. |
| FGC | Fighting game community | Players, organizers and fans of competitive fighting games such as Street Fighter, Tekken, Mortal Kombat and Super Smash Bros. |
| FOTM | Flavor of the month | Character, build or strategy that is suddenly popular, usually because a recent patch made it strong. |
| FOV | Field of view | Extent of the observable world visible at one time, measured in degrees. |
| GF | Grand final | Final match of a tournament bracket, especially in esports and fighting-game events, deciding the champion. |
| GG | Good game | Sportsmanlike phrase typed at the end of a match to acknowledge opponents and teammates, win or lose. |
| GGEZ | Good game, easy | Taunt typed after a win to suggest the opponents offered no challenge. |
| GGWP | Good game, well played | Fuller version of GG that adds a compliment to the opponent's skill, typed at the end of a match in shooters, MOBAs and fighting games. |
| GJ | Good job | Quick praise for a teammate's accomplishment, such as finishing an objective, landing a combo or winning a fight. |
| GLHF | Good luck, have fun | Friendly greeting typed at the start of a match to wish opponents and teammates well, the opening counterpart to GG. |
| GM | Game master | Person who runs a tabletop role-playing game, narrating the story and controlling the world, or a staff member who moderates an online game. |
| GOTY | Game of the Year | Award given to the best game released in a year by critics, publications and award shows, and an informal label of praise, as in "this is my GOTY." Publishers also sell… |
| GP | Gold pieces | In-game currency unit, notably in Dungeons & Dragons, where prices are listed in gold pieces, and in RuneScape, where coins are commonly called "gp." |
| GT | Gamertag | Username on Xbox Live and some other gaming networks, shown on profiles, leaderboards and friend lists. |
| GZ | Congratulations (grats) | Short congratulations typed when another player reaches a milestone, such as leveling up, finding rare loot or finishing a quest. |
| HC | Hardcore (game mode) | Difficulty setting in which death is permanent or penalties are severe, so a character lost cannot be revived. |
| HF | Have fun | Friendly wish typed before a match or session, usually paired with GL as GLHF. |
| HOT | Heal over time | Effect that restores health gradually over a period, such as regeneration or renew spells, rather than in one burst. |
| HP | Hit points | Number representing a character's or enemy's remaining health; reaching zero means defeat. |
| HPS | Healing per second | Measure of how much healing a character delivers over time, the healer's equivalent of DPS. |
| HS | Headshot | Shot that hits an opponent's head, usually dealing extra or instantly lethal damage in shooters. |
| I-frames | Invincibility frames | Brief window, measured in animation frames, during which a character cannot be damaged, typically during a dodge roll, dash or special move. |
| IGL | In-game leader | Player who makes strategic calls during a match, directing team positioning, rotations and economy decisions. |
| IGN | In-game name | The username a player uses inside a particular game, which may differ from their account or real name. |
| INC | Incoming | Warning that enemies are approaching a position, often with a direction or count, as in "inc mid" or "inc 3 bot." Used in MOBAs, MMORPGs and objective-based shooters. |
| INT | Intelligence | Ability score measuring reasoning, memory and knowledge in Dungeons & Dragons and RPGs, used for investigation and arcana checks and as the spellcasting stat for wizards. |
| JG | Jungle (jungler) | Role in MOBAs that roams the area between lanes, killing neutral monsters and helping lanes with surprise attacks ("ganks"). |
| K/D | Kill/death ratio | Statistic dividing a player's kills by their deaths, used to measure performance in shooters such as Call of Duty, Halo and Fortnite. |
| KBM | Keyboard and mouse | PC control setup using a keyboard for movement and actions and a mouse for aiming and camera control, as opposed to a gamepad. |
| KDA | Kills, deaths, assists | Performance statistic in MOBAs and team shooters, usually calculated as (kills + assists) / deaths, rewarding team contributions as well as kills. |
| KEK | Laughter (LOL) | Laughing expression equivalent to LOL, used in gaming chat, Twitch and image boards. |
| KS | Kill steal | Landing the final blow on an enemy that a teammate did most of the work to defeat, thereby taking credit or loot. |
| KYS | Kill yourself | Severe insult urging someone to commit suicide, typed in toxic gaming chats and online arguments. |
| LFG | Looking for group | Request for other players to join a party, raid, dungeon or squad, used in MMORPGs, Destiny, Discord channels and dedicated matchmaking tools. |
| LFM | Looking for more | Indicates that a group already exists and needs more members, as in "LFM dungeon run, need healer." The inverse of LFG, posted by group leaders. |
| LOS | Line of sight | Whether a character can see or target another without obstacles in between. |
| LP | Let's Play | Video or stream in which a player records themselves playing a game while commenting, a major genre on YouTube and Twitch. |
| LVL | Level | A character's progression rank, or a stage in a game, as in "LVL 50" or "boss on LVL 3." Common in game interfaces, chat and streaming titles. |
| Meta | Most effective strategy (from metagame) | The prevailing strategies, characters or builds that are considered strongest in a game at a given time, as in "the current meta." Players say something is "meta" or… |
| MIA | Missing in action | Casualty status for service members whose whereabouts are unknown after hostile action, when it cannot be confirmed whether they were killed, captured or deserted. |
| MMR | Matchmaking rating | Number representing a player's estimated skill, used by the game to match them with opponents of similar ability in ranked or casual play. |
| MOB | Mobile object (computer-controlled enemy) | Any computer-controlled creature or enemy in a game, especially in MMORPGs and Minecraft. |
| Mod | Modification | User-made change or addition to a game, such as new maps, characters, graphics or gameplay rules. |
| MP | Mana points | Resource that powers spells and special abilities in role-playing games, shown as a blue bar in many titles. |
| MTX | Microtransactions | Small in-game purchases made with real money, such as skins, currency, loot boxes or time-savers. |
| Nat 20 | Natural 20 | Rolling a 20 on a 20-sided die (d20) before modifiers, the best possible result in Dungeons & Dragons and other d20 games. |
| NG+ | New Game Plus | Mode unlocked after finishing a game that lets the player start again while keeping items, levels or abilities, often with harder enemies or new content. |
| NOOB | Newbie | Insulting term for an inexperienced or unskilled player, used to mock mistakes, as in "stop camping, noob." It can also describe oneself humorously as a beginner. |
| NPC | Non-player character | Character in a video game or tabletop RPG controlled by the computer or game master rather than a player, such as shopkeepers, quest givers and townspeople. |
| NS | Nice shot | Compliment for an impressive shot or kill, typed in shooters such as Counter-Strike, Valorant and Call of Duty, or in sports games like golf simulations. |
| NT | Nice try | Encouragement typed after a teammate's failed attempt, such as losing a close fight or missing a clutch. |
| OHKO | One-hit knockout | Attack that defeats an opponent in a single hit, regardless of how much health it would normally need to deplete. |
| OOB | Out of bounds | Area outside a game's intended playable space, reached through glitches, clipping through walls or exploiting physics. |
| OOM | Out of mana | Warning from a healer or spellcaster that their mana has run out, so they cannot cast spells until it regenerates. |
| OP | Overpowered | Describes a character, weapon, strategy or item that is too strong compared with others, upsetting game balance. |
| OTK | One-turn kill | Strategy in card games in which a player wins by defeating the opponent from full health in a single turn, usually through a combination of cards. |
| OTP | One-trick pony | Player who plays only one character, often at a very high level, especially in League of Legends, as in "Yasuo OTP." Used on profiles, streams and stat sites. |
| P1 | Player 1 | The first player or controller in a local multiplayer game, often the one who controls menus and starts the game. "P2" means the second player. |
| P2W | Pay-to-win | Game in which spending real money gives a significant competitive advantage, such as stronger weapons or faster progress, rather than only cosmetic items. |
| PB | Personal best | Athlete's fastest time, longest distance or highest score ever in an event, the main measure of individual progress in running, swimming, athletics and weightlifting. |
| PC | Player character | Character controlled by a player in a role-playing game, as opposed to an NPC. |
| PK | Player killer | Player who attacks and kills other players in games where that is allowed, often to steal items or for fun. |
| POG | PogChamp (Twitch emote expressing excitement) | Exclamation of excitement or amazement, as in "that play was pog" or a lone "pog!" in Twitch chat. |
| POTG | Play of the game | Highlight replay of the single most impressive moment in a match, shown to all players at the end of each Overwatch game. |
| Proc | Programmed random occurrence (trigger of an effect) | Activation of a chance-based or conditional effect, such as a weapon's bonus damage, a heal on hit or a critical strike, as in "the sword procced twice." Common in… |
| PST | Please send tell | Asks interested players to contact the poster through a private message ("tell" or "whisper") rather than in public chat. |
| PTT | Push-to-talk | Walkie-talkie style communication in which users hold a button to speak to one person or a group instantly, without dialing. |
| PUG | Pick-up group | Group of strangers assembled for a dungeon, raid or match, rather than an organized team or guild. |
| PvE | Player versus environment | Game content in which players fight computer-controlled enemies, such as quests, dungeons, raids and campaign missions, rather than other players. |
| PvP | Player versus player | Game content or combat in which human players fight each other, as opposed to fighting computer-controlled enemies. |
| PvPvE | Player versus player versus environment | Game design mixing computer-controlled enemies with the threat of other players, so teams fight both AI and each other in the same space. |
| PWN | Own (defeat) | To defeat or dominate someone decisively, as in "you got pwned." Common in gaming and hacker slang, where a "pwned" computer has been taken over by an attacker. |
| QoL | Quality of life | A person's perception of their overall well-being, including physical, psychological, social and functional dimensions. |
| Crying (emoticon) | Mocking reaction to someone complaining, whining or losing, as in "QQ more." The two Q's resemble a pair of eyes with tears running down. | |
| QTE | Quick time event | Game sequence in which the player must press a displayed button or combination within a short time to succeed, often during cutscenes or action set pieces. |
| Rekt | Wrecked | Exclamation meaning badly defeated or humiliated, as in "get rekt" after a crushing play. |
| Rez | Resurrect | Bringing a fallen player back to life with a spell, item or revive mechanic, as in "can someone rez me?" Used as a verb and a noun in MMORPGs, team shooters and action… |
| RMT | Real-money trading | Buying or selling in-game items, currency or accounts for real money outside official channels. |
| RNG | Random number generator | Randomness in a game, such as loot drops, critical hits or spawn locations, determined by a random number generator. |
| RQ | Rage quit | Leaving a game abruptly in anger, typically after losing or being frustrated by teammates. |
| SBMM | Skill-based matchmaking | Matchmaking system that pairs players with opponents of similar skill, rather than by connection quality or randomly, in an effort to make matches fair. |
| SMP | Survival multiplayer | Minecraft server type where players share a survival world, gathering resources and building together, often with light rules. |
| SND | Search and Destroy | Call of Duty game mode in which one team tries to plant a bomb at a target while the other defends or defuses it, with no respawning until the next round. |
| SP | Single-player | Game mode or game played alone against computer-controlled opponents, usually story-driven, as in "I only bought it for the SP." Reviews often judge it separately from… |
| SSR | Super super rare | Highest or one of the highest rarity tiers in many gacha games, in which players spend currency on randomized "pulls" for characters or items. |
| STR | Strength | Ability score measuring physical power in Dungeons & Dragons and many RPGs, affecting melee attacks, carrying capacity and athletics checks. |
| TAS | Tool-assisted speedrun | Speedrun created with emulator tools such as frame-by-frame input and save states, producing theoretically perfect play, often impossible for humans. |
| TDM | Team deathmatch | Game mode in which two teams compete to reach a target number of kills or the most kills before time runs out. |
| TK | Team kill | Killing a teammate, either accidentally through friendly fire or deliberately to grief. |
| TP | Teleport | Instant travel to another location in a game through spells, items, waypoints, portals or server commands. |
| TPK | Total party kill | Situation in a tabletop or video-game RPG in which every member of the adventuring party dies, usually ending the campaign or forcing a reset. |
| TTK | Time to kill | Average time needed to defeat an opponent with a given weapon or in a given game, a key measure of shooter balance. |
| TTRPG | Tabletop role-playing game | Role-playing game played with dice, character sheets and conversation, usually around a table or online, such as Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder and Call of Cthulhu. |
| TTV | Twitch TV (streamer tag) | Tag added to a player's username, as in "Shadow_TTV," showing that they stream on Twitch. |
| ULT | Ultimate ability | A character's most powerful ability, available only after charging a meter or waiting through a long cooldown, and often decisive in team fights. |
| VC | Voice chat | Real-time voice communication with teammates or friends, through game clients, Discord or console parties. |
| w00t | Woot (exclamation of joy) | Exclamation of excitement or triumph in leetspeak, typed after a victory, a rare drop or good news, as in "w00t, we won!" |
| WASD | W, A, S and D keys (movement controls) | Standard PC keyboard layout for moving a character: W forward, A left, S backward and D right, with the mouse handling aim and camera. |
| WIS | Wisdom | Ability score measuring perception, intuition and willpower in Dungeons & Dragons, used for perception and insight checks and as the spellcasting stat for clerics and… |
| WP | Well played | Compliment typed after a strong performance by a teammate or opponent, during or after a match. |
| WR | World record | Best mark ever recorded in an event under official conditions and ratified by the sport's governing body, such as World Athletics or World Aquatics. |
| WTB | Want to buy | Prefixes a post from someone seeking to purchase an item, common in online forums, collector communities, gaming marketplaces and trading subreddits. |
| WTS | Want to sell | Prefix for trade-chat or marketplace posts offering an item for sale, as in "WTS crafting materials, cheap." Used in MMORPGs, Discord trading servers and forums. |
| WTT | Want to trade | Prefix for posts offering an item in exchange for another rather than for currency, as in "WTT shiny Pikachu for rare Charizard." Common in MMORPGs, Pokémon communities… |
| XP | Experience points | Points earned by defeating enemies, completing quests or playing matches, which accumulate to raise a character's level or rank. |