CSGO Slang Terms and Phrases You Need To Know

The Counter-Strike series may not have a steep learning curve like Eve Online, but it’s definitely up there on the list, especially when it comes to the scope of terminology that every player needs to learn to adapt to the game. 

If you’re new to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive or you’re simply trying to test your knowledge, we’ve compiled a list of the must-know CSGO slang terms. 

Let’s dive in. 

CSGO Slang and Phrases 101

Here are some of the most common CSGO terms and what they mean:

• Ace: A player who kills all five opponents in a single round.

• Aimpunch: When a player’s screen shakes from side to side due to a lack of armour. 

• Anti-strat: An event in the game where one team knows the strategy of the other team and can predict the opponents’ next steps in the game.

• Aimbot: A cheating program that allows players to automatically aim and shoot their weapons at enemies (without manually aiming them).

• AWP: The sniper rifle in the game– which can kill enemies in one shot– is called AWP. It’s one of the most popular weapons in the multiplayer game and is often used to help teams gain an advantage. The player who uses this weapon is often called AWPer. 

You may be interested in: All 2022 CSGO events you shouldn’t miss.

• Backstab: When someone from the squad is killed from behind. 

• Bait: When a team or a player uses one of their teammates to lure the enemy into an unfavourable position in the game. This type of play usually requires coordinated teamwork.

• Buy out: When a player buys everything they can with their money in the game. This is a popular esports tactic that’s usually done in the last game.

• Boosting: When players crouch and allow their teammates to jump on their heads to get to hard-to-reach places on the map. One of the similar CSGO terms is the ‘triple boost’ which means hopping over two players.

• Bunnyhop or BHop: A technique where plays jump when they’re about to land. This allows them to move across the map faster than normal.

• Crabwalk: A movement where a player crouch walks around the game map while holding a pistol or knife.

• Crossfire: A situation in the game when gamers are looking at the same entrance into the defending site where the bomb will be/ is planted. 

• Carry: The leading player who is ‘carrying’ the team with their performance. In CSGO, this usually means that they have the most kills in the game.

• Collateral: When you get multiple kills with one shot. This can usually happen with an AWP.

• Crosshair: The dot in the middle of your screen that you use to aim your weapons. Xhair is short for crosshair.

• Dink: When an opponent takes a shot through a helmet (that may or may not kill them). The term comes from the sound that the bullet makes when it hits the helmet.

• Drop: When a player drops their weapon on the ground so that their teammate can collect it.

• Dry-peek: An event in the game where a player aggresses the opponent without using a flash. 

• Eco round: A round in the game where the players in one team skip expensive weapons and equipment and play with the essentials. This happens when the team can’t afford the powerful weapons in the game or is simply saving for the later rounds. Professional players almost always do an eco round in the early stages of a match.

• Entry-frag: When a player makes a kill immediately while entering the bomb site of the offence.

• Exec: When a team clears out the offence site with grenades and coordinated pushes.

• Flashbang: A grenade that blinds and deafens enemies when it explodes.

• Fake flash: A strategic move that you can usually see from professional players where they throw one flash that the enemy can easily spot and avoid and then throw another one immediately after, which blinds the opponent for an easier kill.

• FPS drop: When the frames per second in your game drop and interrupts the normal flow of the game.

• Glock-rush: When a rushes into enemy territory with pistols only, usually in the early rounds of a match.

• Glass Cannon: When the player who holds the AWP does not have a kevlar vest on.

• Headshot: A direct shot to the head that instantly kills the enemy.

• In-game leader: A player who calls the shots and makes strategic decisions for the team.

• Juan Deag/ One Deag: When a player makes a headshot the Desert Eagle pistol.

• Jiggle peek: A move used by professional players where they quickly press the left-right button to get a better view of the opponents.

• Killing spree: When a player kills multiple enemies (at least four) in quick succession.

• Lurker: A player whose role is to silently transverse the map and catch enemies off guard.

• Lit: A term used alongside a number that indicates how much damage a player has lost. For example: Lit 90 means they’ve taken 90 damage.

• Nades: A CSGO slang for grenades. Most players use it to refer to HE (High Explosive) grenades. 

• Nade stack: When a group of players throws multiple HE grenades in the same area.

• Noob: A derogatory word for a new player who is inexperienced and has little to no skills in the game.

• Ninja defuse: The hidden player who waits for the Terrorist to leave so he can quickly defuse the planted bomb. 

• One Way: A perfectly positioned smoke that only one team can see through.

• Peek: When players quickly look around corners in hopes of learning more about the opposing team’s position without being seen. 

• Pixel walking: When a player takes a position on an invisible ledge that’s not within the design of the map. This usually happens when a player gets stuck.

• Pre-fire: When players fire their weapons at an area in the same instant they peek at it. Players often do this because they believe that a player for the opposing team is in that area. 

• Pre-aiming: When a player preemptively puts their crosshair at an angle because they believe an enemy will be within their crosshair when they peek. 

• Rage quitting: When players quit the game out of frustration, usually after dying or losing a round.

• Rush: Going to the bomb site immediately at the start of the round to catch the other team off guard.

• Rekt: Slang for ‘wrecked’. When one team defeats the opponent team by killing them all in the first seconds of the round.

• Smoke criminal: A player who knows his way around with smoke grenades and how to make kills by using them.

• Team kill: A team kill is when a player accidentally kills one of their own teammates. This is usually considered bad sportsmanship and can result in a ban from the game.

• Killstreak: When players kill multiple enemies in a row without dying.

• Wall of smoke: When a player makes a lot of smoke with different kinds of grenades.

Did you know? The CSGO player base rose by 60% in just two years.

Short CSGO Phrases

CSGO is a fast-paced game where communication is essential for a victory but players usually don’t get much time to spend in chat. That’s why most of them often resort to abbreviations. 

Here’s a list of the most common short phrases you can come across while playing CSGO:

• 1G: When a player kills himself with a Molotov by accident. It stems from an event in a LAN tournament where popular Twitch streamer Summit1g and his team lost the map after he ran into Molotov fire.

• 200 IQ: An achievement when a player wins the round for his team with really smart and tactical moves.

• 212:A tactical move where four players from the team  position themselves at opposite sites while the rest watch mid.

• AC: Anti-cheat program.

• ADR: Average damage per round.

• DM: Deathmatch.

• GG: Good game.

• GLHF: Good luck and have fun.

• EZ: Easy game.

• FPS: Frames per second.

• HS (%): The percentage of headshot kills done by the player.

• IGL: In-game leader.

• KQLY: Slang for a jump shot, usually one that takes place at bombsite A on Dust II. This move was named after retired French player Hovik ‘KQLY’ Tovmassian, who executed the move in an ESL Pro League match in 2014.

• N1: Nice one.

• OT: Overtime.

• OP: Overpowered.

• HP: Hit points.

You may be interested in: A comprehensive list of the top 10 players in CSGO.

Bottom Line

Over the course of its 20+-year-old history, Counter-Strike has spawned a long list of CS and CSGO slang terms specific to the game and are key for every player that wants to play the game and anyone who wants to understand competitive CSGO sports (since professional teams use plenty of CSGO terminology!).