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Terms and Abbreviations in Valorant
Check out the glossary of Valorant terminology!
If you're new to Valorant, you may become confused with some of the terms and abbreviations said by players since Riot Games does not provide an official glossary for the game. Knowing Valorant terminology would definitely help you communicate efficiently with your teammates and understand the game better. The list below is Valorant terms that you need to know!
Valorant Game Terminology
Game Terminology comprises official terms within Valorant.
| TERM | DEFINITION |
|---|---|
| Ace | This happens when one player kills all enemies of the opposing team in one round. |
| Clutch | A round result which happens when the last player standing wipes out all remaining enemies of the enemy team. |
| Flawless | A round result which happens when no one from the winning team died. |
| Team Ace | A round result which happens when each player of the winning team kills a different player on the opposing team. |
| Thrifty | A round result which happens when the winning team wins while using less expensive resources and loadouts than the enemy team. |
Valorant Slangs Made by The Community
The following are the terms and abbreviations created by players to make communication easier.
| TERM | DEFINITION |
|---|---|
| ADS/ Aiming Down Sights | Using Alternate Fire on a weapon. |
| Aggro | Another term for playing aggressively. |
| Anchor | A player from the defending team that holds down a spike site and stalls the enemies from entering. |
| Anti-eco | Purchasing weapons in an effort to maintain an economic advantage over a team that is using an eco-round to save creds. |
| Anti-Flash | A strategy where a player hides from where they anticipate an enemy to use a flash. |
| Baiting | Leaving a teammate to die with or without the intention to trade for them when an enemy kills them. This can also mean utilizing your teammates' position to obtain information on the enemy team. |
| Bottom Frag | The player who has the fewest amount of kills on a team or the whole match. |
| Bunny Hop/B-Hop | A movement technique that enables you to time your jumps and use air strafing to accelerate somewhat faster than sprinting. |
| Callout | Providing the team with crucial information, such as the enemy team's position or the current state of the round. This can also mean referring to a map location. |
| Counterstrafe | A movement method that enables you shoot accurately if you fire at the same time as you strafe in the opposite direction. |
| Crab Walk/Peek | Crouching while walking or peeking. |
| Crosshair Placement | Where a player places their crosshair while navigating the map or holding an angle. |
| Crossfire | When two teammates are shooting from two distinct angles at the same target. |
| CT | Originally a Counterstrike word for counter-terrorists. This is called defenders in Valorant. |
| Default | When your team plays a non-committal strategy to gain information or seek for picks when you are on the attacking side. |
| Dink | Refers to a headshot that does not kill an opponent. Moreover, it is typically used to suggest that the target is on the verge of dying. |
| Double Swing | When two players swing simultaneously to overwhelm an opponent and make them choose which player to shoot at. |
| Dry Peek | Peeking without using any ability. |
| Eco Round | When a team decides to save credits in order to full buy in the following round and to undermine the opponent's economy. |
| Entry Fragger | The player or agent who attempts to start a fight by entering the site first, getting the opening kill, and checking where the opponent is located. |
| Exit Frag | Getting kills against enemies who are fleeing the about-to-explode spike site. |
| EZ | A shorter term for Easy. Usually used to trigger enemies. |
| Fake Defuse | Pretending to defuse the spike in order to get the enemy players to peek and try to stop the defusing of the spike. |
| Faking | Faking to attack a site in order to get the defenders to move to other sites. |
| Feeding | When a player repeatedly dies easily in a match. |
| Flank | When a player moves stealthily behind the other squad to ambush them. |
| Flick | When you quickly lock onto an enemy agent with your crosshair. |
| Force Buy | Obtaining the best possible weapons yet lacking the resources to complete a full purchase in order to maintain a lead. |
| Frag | Another term for a kill. |
| Full Buy | When your team has the means to purchase all they need and become fully equipped. Usually a combination of a rifle and heavy shields. |
| GGWP/GG | Stands for Good Game Well Played. |
| GLHF | Stands for Good Luck Have Fun |
| Grim Wall | An off-angle Sage wall. Popularized by Youtuber and streamer Grim. |
| Half-Buy | When your team chooses the best equipment while still having enough credits to fully buy in the following round. This is different from a force buy. |
| Head Glitch | When you or the enemy takes a position where your head is the only thing that is visible. |
| Instalock | When an ally enters agent select, they immediately select and lock in their preferred agent. |
| Jiggle Peek | To abruptly peek and return to cover to gather information or to reveal enemy positions and entice them to shoot at you. |
| Lineup | A particular positioning to ensure that your ability lands in a specific way. |
| Lurk | To position and keep an eye out for flankers. |
| Molly | A lingering grenade that deals damage. One example is Killjoy’s nanoswarm. |
| Ninja Defuse | When a defender sneaks past attackers and detonates the spike covertly, usually by pressing the defuse button as a louder audio cue plays to cover the sound of the defuse. |
| NT | Stands for Nice Try. |
| Off-Angle | An unusual and thus surprising position from which a player can hold an angle to surprise opponents. |
| One-Tap | To kill an enemy with one shot. |
| One-Way | A smoke that makes it possible for a player to see enemies, but prevents the enemy from seeing the player because of the disparity in their distance from the smoke. |
| Peek | A movement method where the player tries to quickly see a corner or an angle with the least amount of body exposure or without overcommitting to the fight. |
| Pick | An instant kill when the round starts. |
| Play for Picks | To play passively and wait for enemies who push the site. |
| Play Slow | Rather than trying to make aggressive plays, play passively and use the opportunity to learn about the positions of the opposition. |
| Pocket Sage | A Sage player whose only function is to play very passively while healing teammates. |
| Post Plant | The time span after the spike has been planted. |
| Pre-Fire | To shoot ahead of time at a spot or angle where enemies are likely to be. |
| Retake | When the attackers successfully recover possession of a place after the defenders concede it to them. |
| Rez | Another term for Resurrection. Used as a reference to Sage's ultimate ability. |
| Rotate | When a player or team commits to going somewhere else (often to another site) on the map. |
| Roza Ult | Failing to kill an enemy using Raze’s ultimate ability. Popularized by professional Valorant player Subroza. |
| Rush | When the attackers rush the site before the defenders have time to react or send support, in an effort to overwhelm them with speed and superior numbers. |
| Saving | When winning a round for the opposing team's team is assured, the remaining teammates decide to escape and hide rather than risk losing their weapons to enemies. |
| Stack | To attack a location with many team members or to defend a site. |
| Stick | When a player chooses to defuse a spike as opposed to tapping it to fool an attacker. |
| Swing | When you rapidly and from a wider angle, peek to startle an enemy holding the expected angle. |
| Top Frag | The player who has the most amount of kills on a team or the whole match. |
| TP | A shorter term for Teleport. This might be an agent utilizing one of their teleportation abilities or using one of the teleporters on Bind. |
| Tracking | Crosshair control refers to maintaining your crosshair on a target for a prolonged length of time, typically when you or the target is moving. |
| Trade | When a player dies yet their teammate immediately kills the opponent that killed them. |
| Utility | Also referred to as agent abilities. |
| Wallbang | Shooting through a terrain or wall to score a kill. |
| Whiffing | Missing a shot or unsuccessfully shooting an enemy. |
