League of Legends is a game that’s… not exactly known for its beginner-friendly appeal. From kiting and farming to map awareness and itemization, there are plenty of skills that players must get to grips with to escape the iron abyss.

And… if all that sounded like an otherworldly Tolkien language, I hate to break it to ya: League has a whole wealth of game-specific lingo that you’ll need to learn too. Without understanding the lingo, you risk missing out on vital game-changing information…Or misreading the room (well, chat) entirely.

Fortunately, getting to grips with the lingo is a whole lot easier than mastering mechanics, and the benefits of doing so can be great! That’s why today I’ll provide an overview of some of the most commonly used lingo in League of Legends. I’ll also touch on any new lingo that has popped up in 2025 (so yes, even returning veteran players will find this guide handy too!).

League of Legends Terminology Guide: Must-Know Terms in 2025

From AA and backdoor to tilted and MVP, this in-depth guide provides a quick definition of all the essential LoL lingo.

Top tip: Use “CTRL + F” to search for a particular term!

• AA: Meaning “auto attack”
• Ace: When one team wipes out all players on the opposing team
• ADC: Meaning “Attack Damage Carry” — typically associated with the bot lane player
• AFK: Meaning “Away from Keyboard” — referring to a player who is inactive in a live match
• AD: Meaning “attack damage”
• AP: Meaning “ability power”
• Aggro: Short for aggression — describes an aggressive playstyle. Can also refer to a player attracting the attention of enemy units or turrets.
• Autofill: When a player is filled into a game role they typically don’t play
• Backdoor: When a team ends the game by sneaking into the opposing team’s base and destroying their Nexus
• Baron: Nickname for the Baron Nashor, one of the main objectives in League of Legends
• BE: Meaning “Blue Essence” — one of the main currencies in the game
• BG: Meaning “Bad Game”
• Blue Buff or “Blue:” Refers to the Blue Sentinel neutral jungle monster (or the buff it grants when slain)
• BM: Meaning “bad manners”
• Boosted: When a player has had their rank artificially inflated, often by duoing with a higher-skilled player or purchasing an account. It can also be used as an insult to imply that a player is underperforming.
• Buff: An effect that improves a player’s performance in some shape or form (usually their stats or abilities)
• Bot: Refers to the bottom lane in the game or the bottom lane player
• Camp: Refers to a neutral monster spawn point or the strategy of targeting a specific enemy target repeatedly to put them at a significant disadvantage
• Carry: The player on a team who is most likely to have the biggest impact in a game
• Cheese: Refers to a high-risk-high-reward strategic play, such as invading the enemy jungle at level 1
• Comp: Refers to team composition
• Contest: When a team strategically challenges the opposing team’s actions Cooldown: The time a player needs to wait before they can use an attack, spell, or ability again
• Counter: A champion, strategic move, or build strategically selected because of its strength against the opposing team’s champions or comp
• CC: Meaning “crowd control”
• Creeps: Alternative name for lane minions
• CS: Meaning “creep score” — refers to the number of lane minions and monsters you’ve slain
• DC: Lingo for disconnected — when a player disconnects from the match and isn’t active
• Dive: Refers to the strategic move of killing an enemy under their turret
• Dragon or “Drake:” Refers to the dragon-like objective monsters that spawn throughout the game
• Early game: The first 5 to 15 minutes of a matchmade game, where players usually stick to their lanes and prioritize farming
• Elo: Refers to a player’s skill level
• Exp: Meaning experience
• Facecheck: When a player carelessly walks into the fog of war (no vision area) without taking necessary precautions
• Falls Off: Meaning a champion who is strong in the early to mid game, but weak in the later stages of the game
• Farm: The act of killing enemy lane minions and neutral monsters to acquire gold and experience
• Feed: When a player has significantly more deaths than kills
• Fed: When a player has considerably more kills than deaths
• FF: Meaning to surrender or start a surrender vote with the /FF command
• First Blood: The first kill of the game
• Fog of War: Areas of the map where there is no vision
• Freeze: Refers to a minion wave management strategy — learn more here (https://dignitas.gg/articles/surfs-up-a-definitive-guide-to-wave-management-in-league-of-legends)
• Gank: Refers to flanking a lane to kill the enemy opponent
• GG: Meaning “Good Game”
• Inhib: Short for “Inhibitor”
• Int: When a player intentionally plays poorly in an attempt to stop their team from winning
• Invade: Entering the enemy team’s jungle to secure a kill or steal their camps
• Jungler: Refers to the player in the jungle role
• KDA: Meaning “Kills/Deaths/Assists”
• Khan: Nickname for the neutral monster objective Atakhan
• Last hit: Landing the killing blow on a minion or monster to secure its gold bounty
• Late game: Refers to the later stage of a game, where players have full builds and maxed out abilities
• LP: Meaning “League Points” — gained through competitive play
• Kite: Refers to the strategy of maximizing your damage output while putting as much distance as possible between you and your target
• KS: Refers to “Kill steal” — when a player lands the killing blow on a target despite not contributing much to the kill itself
• Main: A player’s most played champion and/or role
• Macro: Refers to the strategic elements of the game, such as securing in-game objectives and placing down wards to gain vision
• Map awareness: Keeping a close eye on the in-game mini-map to track enemy movements
• Meta: The current state of the game (such as which champions are currently strong and weak)
• MIA: Meaning “Missing in Action”
• Micro: Refers to the mechanical elements of the game, such as farming and landing abilities
• Mid game: Refers to the middle stage of a match, which typically consists of fights and securing objectives
• MR: Meaning “magic resist”
• MS: Meaning “movement speed”
• MVP: Meaning “Most Valuable Player”
• Overextend: When a player plays too aggressively and paths into an unsafe area of the map
• Peel: Protecting the carry from the brunt of the enemy’s damage
• Penta: Short for “pentakill,” meaning killing all five enemy players within a fight
• Pick: Catching out an overextended enemy and killing them
• Ping: Either meaning a player’s latency or the in-game visual alert indicators
• Pink ward: Alternative name for the control ward
• Poke: When a player harasses an enemy with their abilities and auto-attacks
• Point and click: Refers to an ability that simply requires the player to point their mouse and click to aim and land it
• Powerspike: The level (or point of time) when a champion experiences a significant boost in their strength
• Premade: Meaning party members — when a player has queued up with another player
• Pull: Drawing out a neutral monster or objective from their spawn point with aggro (see above)
• Push: To kill a minion wave quickly; a wave management technique
• Red buff: Refers to the Red Brambleback jungle monster (or the buff it grants when slain)
• Roses: Refers to the in-game neutral buff Bloody Petals
• RP: Meaning “Riot Points” — refers to the main premium currency in League
• Ruinous: Refers to one of Atakhan’s forms
• Sanctum: Refers to League’s new in-game gacha system; used to unlock exclusive content like Exalted skins
• Scale: A champion who becomes stronger as the game progresses
• Skill shot: An attack that requires a player to aim it precisely
• Snowball: Using an early in-game advantage to dominate the rest of the game
• Split push: To strategically push out a side lane to create pressure
• Sweep: To use the red trinket to clear out enemy wards
• Summs: Short for “summoner spell”
• Synergy: When champions have kits that work well together
• Squishy: An easy-to-kill champion with a small amount of health
• Tank: A hard-to-kill champion with a high amount of sustain, defenses, or health
• Tilted: When a player becomes frustrated and makes reckless plays
• TP: Refers to the “Teleport” summoner spell
• Trade: When two players attack each other simultaneously, ultimately trading damage
• Voracious: Refers to one of Atakhan’s forms
• Zone: To strategically prevent an enemy from farming minions or securing vital objectives

Mastering League of Legends’ Lingo

LoL’s lingo may seem daunting and overwhelming at first, but you’ll pick things up quickly the more games you play!

Remember that you can always bookmark this page and use “CTRL + F” to search for a specific phrase if you ever encounter an unfamiliar word in your matches. You can also ask other players in the LoL community for their take on our dedicated Discord server.