CSGO Terms – Understand Counter-Strike Insiders Lingo & Slang

If you want to learn essential CS:GO terms you come to the right place since we cover everything from official terminology to lingo and Counter-Strike game slang right here.

Just pick which what you want to learn, and we will break it down to you.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Summit1g will never forget his 2v1 clutch turn into an epic fail at DreamHack Open Austin back in 2016. He practically won the round for Splyce and accidentally walked into Molotov to lose it, which sparked memes online and immediately bumped into CS GO slang. 1g now means a player accidentally killing themselves with an incendiary grenade or Molotov. Not only that, CS:GO later introduced a 1g loadout in Broken Fang Retake mode, with helmet, armor, a defuse kit, and a Molotov.

AC is short for anti-cheat program, used to detect unexpected behaviors and prevent users to activate cheats or join the servers at all in some instances.

Ace

Ace is when a player kills the entire enemy team by themselves. Usually used in competitive mode, this means you have to kill 5 players in a single round to ace it and unlock the appropriate achievement.

Aimbot

One of the most commonly used cheats, Aimbot will automatically aim at enemies with or without the need to manually adjust the crosshair.

Aimpunch

Aimpunch is the mechanic of bullet impacts where hits to the head or body without armor briefly shake the screen and flicker the crosshair. It ‘feels’ like being punched and it’s designed to make it harder to respond to good aiming in the game.

Anchor

Anchor is the player holding down a site in a defensive position, tasked to briefly solo defend if needed and always the last to rotate to the other site if needed.

Anti-eco

Anti-eco round is purchasing items and/or adjusting strategy to counter a team strapped for funds. This usually means going for SMGs and shotguns in the buy menu or moving to more open spaces on the map, as enemies are likely to have no more than pistols.

Anti-flash

Anti-flash is a behavior used to avoid the effects of a flashbang you expect to be thrown. It will usually mean players looking at a wall, behind a box, or walking backwards to their desired position.

Anti-strat

When you know the basics of the enemy’s strategy and counter those moves, you are anti-stratting. Anti-strat means developing reactions to the opponent’s strategy as not to get into gunfights difficult for your team to win.

Auto

Used to describe SCAR-20 and GSG9 semi-auto snipers, which usually allow players to gain control over important positions more easily by spamming.

B

Bait

Baiting is using your teammates to get enemies in tough positions. It can mean intentionally letting them die while you wait for a better moment to enter, getting behind enemies’ backs, or using their firefight to wait for enemies to reload.

Bhop

Bhop is short for bunny hopping, a speedy movement where players jump immediately after hitting the ground from an initial jump while moving. It can serve as acceleration and make you a harder target to hit too.

Boost

To boost someone is to crouch and let them jump on your head in order to climb to a higher position otherwise inaccessible.

C

Crabwalk

Crabwalk describes players moving while crouching and it’s not only in CS:GO. It was famously employed as a strategy in competitive by fnatic, though, back in 2015.

CT is one of the more obvious CSGO terms, meaning Counter-Terrorist – the team defending the sites on bomb defusal maps.

Clutch

To clutch the round is to be the last man standing on your team and win it against at least two enemies.

Crossfire

At least two teammates looking/shooting at the same entrance or position.

Comp

Competitive games, usually meaning regular rules with Matchmaking although Valve has been experimenting more recently.

Counter-boost

Boosting to a position which is usually used by the enemy team.

Counter-strafe

Stopping immediately to get the best possible accuracy. It’s done by moving linearly (e.g. right with D) and pressing the opposite key to stop (A in this case).

D

Default

Default usually denoted the standard strategy the team uses when starting a match or a specific round.

Demo

Demo was probably one of the first Counter Strike terms to catch on, most simply put as a replay of a full match.

Dink

Dink is a headshot that does not kill. Consequently, it leaves the enemy very low on health and a perfect target for teammates pushing.

Deathmatch or FFA Deathmatch is a mode where all other players are enemies with a time limit and the goal is to have the most kills.

Drop

To give teammates your weapon, you have to drop them. Thus, to ‘drop’ is to give weapons and it’s usually done at the start of the round.

Dry-peek

Dry-peeking is breaching or just leaving cover without a flashbang.

E

Eco

Eco round is a round where the team decides to save money for the next round, usually going with pistols and grenades although it can be a preset team loadout of a kind.

Eco-frag

A kill you get during eco round against a fully or just better-equipped enemy.

Exec

Exec or execute is a strategy of coordinated grenades in an offensive push usually to win over a bomb site.

Exit-frag

A kill made while leaving the site where the bomb is about to explode or has already exploded.

Easy. Usually used to taunt the enemy team in casual games, if they are unable to cope in a given round.

F

Fake

Any act of deception can be described as faking. It’s an attempt to sway the enemy into thinking you are doing one thing while actually doing the opposite.

Flash

Short for flashbang grenade, thrown to blind the enemy players.

Flick

Quick aim movements from one target to another with scoped weapons.

Force

In contrast to eco round, where a team saves money, force buy means purchasing the best possible weapons despite being low on money because it’s crucial to win the round.

Frag

Just like in many other FPS titles, frag simply means a kill.

Full save

Full save round is a radical eco strategy where a team spends absolutely no money.

G

Gamble stack

When the CT team decides to send more players to one bomb site than the other with no knowledge of where the Terrorist team could push.

GG translates to “good game” and is used by players as a way to congratulate one another after matches.

Glass cannon

Buying an AWP sniper without suiting up with armor or a helmet.

GLHF

“Good luck and have fun”! A gesture players use before matches as an act of sportsmanship.

Grief

Intentionally losing gunfights, rounds, and matches to irritate teammates or lower your rank.

H / I

Hand cannon

Desert Eagle, the perfect pistol to shoot through walls.

One part of GLHF we mention above, HF means “have fun” and shows sportsmanship.

HS (headshots) make all the difference in CS:GO and you will often see players boasting HS%, which means percentage of HS kills to your overall kills.

IGL

In-game leader calls the shots and makes all the major decisions for his team’s gameplay during matches.

J / K

Jiggle peek

Provoking shots by repeatedly peeking corners where the enemy team usually holds ground.

Juan Deag

Juan Deag is derived from One Deagle, meaning a Single-shot kill with Desert Eagle.

Jump throw

Jump throw is a technique used to throw long-range grenades, releasing immediately after pressing the jump button. It allows teams to deploy smoke screens at greater distances.

KQLY

KQLY was the center of one of the biggest CS:GO cheating scandals ever. Later banned for cheating, KQLY first made history with his jumpshot to win the game against Virtus Pro at ESL One. From that point on, KQLY means impossible jumpshots and almost any near-impossible in-game events.

Kobe

A grenade kill. Just like a paper toss calls for a ‘Kobe!’, the Counter-Strike community recognizes a great throw and will probably forever be spamming Kobe in the chat.

KreedZ Climbing was a game mode aimed to help players develop better movement skills. Ultimately, kz_ maps are now many and usually look like obstacle courses with difficult jumps.

L / M

Legged

An AWP hit to the leg, which is practically the only way to hit the target and not get a kill.

Lit

Used to mark enemies you hurt, lit is usually followed by a number to say how much damage you made. Read a detailed breakdown of lit meaning in CSGO.

Lurk

Lurking in CS:GO is just what you’d think – moving separately (and typically silently) from your team and looking for unsuspecting enemies during their rotation.

Stands for Matchmaking on Valve servers. Additionally, it could be important to note SBMM stands for skill-based matchmaking and is ferociously discussed by FPS players across.

Molly

Short for Molotov cocktail, grenade exclusive to the Terrorist team.

N

Abbreviation for North America but stands for poorer in quality as part of the CS GO slang, as US players are generally seen as inferior to their European counterparts.

Nade stack

Three or more grenades thrown at the same spot. Nade stacks are usually used to empty a stronghold or free a passage to a bomb site.

Net graph

Net graph has been an important part of CS:GO for years, functioning as a rather easy way for players to check their FPS and connection quality (ping, loss, and choke).

Ninja defuse

Defusing a bomb with the terrorist team alive and unaware of the attempt.

NS stands for “nice shot”, usually used to congratulate a player in the chat or cheer during streams.

When things don’t actually go to plan, NT stands for “nice try” and is especially suitable when you liked the strategy or aiming but it just wasn’t meant to be.

If the plan actually works out, you can resort to N1 which translates to “nice one”. However, CS:GO community can be sarcastic and mock players with N1 as well!

O

One tap

This one feels self-explanatory. One tap is a kill made with a single shot, usually with the enemy coming with full HP.

One way

One way is a thought-out and perfectly executed smokescreen which allows the team to control a part of the map. It’s learned behavior with consistent outcomes, creating short-term corners of your own.

P

Peek

Peeking is quick strafe movement where players try to get a picture of what’s around corners.

Play for picks

Play for picks is a strategy to inflict economic damage to the enemy, where the team tries to play it safe and ultimately stay alive while damaging/killing opposing players.

Playing off contact

To ply off contact is to wait in a sort of an ambush and wait for your teammates to initiate a gunfight before joining in.

Pop-flash

Flashbang grenade that goes off immediately as the enemies see it, pop-flash is a skill move to blind more experienced players who tend to look away when they see it.

Pre-aim

Pre-aiming is placing crosshair to where the enemies (or rather their heads) would be once you walk past walls or doors.

Pre-fire

Similarly, pre-firing means taking shots early and before you even see the enemy – knowing or assuming where they are.

PUG

PUG is short for pick-up game played by randoms who often come and go during matches.

Q / R

Quasi buy

There is a line between going for Eco round and a full buy and quasi buy is just that. Players buy some equipment and/or guns but still make sure to have some money left for the next round.

Queue

Queuing is joining the matchmaking process on Valve servers, usually creating matches with random people.

Rage hack

Rage hacking is when players turn to cheating as a response to losing a round or a previous match.

Reset

Winning a round after the enemy team won the round is called Reset. It resets the opponents’ round won bonuses and usually forces them into an eco round.

R-dub

ESEA employs R-dub as a value to show the contribution players make within a team.

Rotate

To rotate is to switch from one bomb site to another as a CT or move the offense from one site to another as a T.

Rush

Rush is a Terrorist strategy to move immediately as the round starts and storm one of the bomb sites together.

S

Save

Hiding to save your loadout for the next round once you know the current round has already been lost.

Script

Adding lines of code into the game configuration with the purpose to adjust it or bind keys, for example.

Smurf

Smurfing is using a new or lower ranked account in order to play against less skilled players. This is often the case in SBMM (skill-based matchmaking) FPS games.

Spinbot

A cheat to have the player spin and make him a target more difficult to hit, usually used when rage hacking.

Strafe

Moving linearly to the right or the left in an attempt to avoid getting shot and still keeping your accuracy to some degree.

Strat

Short for strategy.

Support

Support is a CS:GO role where the player is tasked with assisting the push through flashbangs and grenades, while also covering to hold bomb sites.

Swag7

Swag7 is just another term for MAG-7, a pump-action shotgun used mostly for defensive purposes by the Counter-terrorist.

T

Tagged

Hit. When a player is tagged, they are slowed down and consequently easier for teammates to hit as well.

Tilt

While taken from pinball, CS GO term tilting is getting angry at the game and performing poorly as a result of losing the previous round(s).

TK is a team-kill, where the player kills his teammate.

Throw

Like with many other sports, to throw is to lose a round or the entire match on purpose.

Tournament organizer, with major tournaments usually set up by well-established companies.

Toggle

Toggle is a cheat turned on and off by a bound key, usually aimbot set to the same button as fire. Thus, the aimbot is toggled on while the player is shooting. Read a detailed breakdown of CSGO toggling.

U / V / W

Utility

Utility is the collective term for grenades, armor, helmet, as well as defuse kits for Counter-terrorist.

VAC

VAC is short of Valve Anti-cheat and it’s a system designed to recognize cheats on PC, usually automatically and permanently banning players. It’s fair to note it’s been in the center of quite some scandals over the years.

Volvo

Nickname Valve earned back in 2013, when players accidentally (and some purposefully trolling) spammed Volvo with #givediretide once CS:GO had its winter event DIRETIDE canceled.

Walling

Seeing through walls by employing cheats known as wallhacks.

Whiff

To whiff is to miss a shot, usually failing to hit an easy target.

Wide-peek

Wide-peek is a quick strafe movement to peek going wrong, sticking out slightly too far and opening yourself up to potential shots.

WP is short for “well played”, an expression used as an act of sportsmanship among teammates or opponents.

X / Y / Z

Xhair

Short for crosshair.

X-ray

X-ray is a setting to see players through walls while watching demos.

Yprac

Yprac Practice Platform allows you to practice specific skills through Workshop maps on Steam.

Zeused

Killed by Zeus x27, a one-shot electroshock weapon only to be used in close-range battles.

CSGO Slang & Terminology

Here you can find all of the most important Counter Strike (csgo) terms that you need to know, so if you understand this list no slang will throw you off your game and you will always be able to keep up the conversation with the pros!

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