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Fortnite Slang And Terms Explained
Whos Matt? Why is he low and what does Harry Potter have to do with it? We’ll explain all the common Fortnite terms so that you don’t find yourself choking your comms.
Key Takeaways: Fortnite Slang & Lingo Essentials
Here’s a quick rundown of what you’ll learn from this post:
- Building Basics: Understand ’90s’, a key building technique for gaining height.
- Weapons and Items: Get familiar with terms like ‘AR’ (Assault Rifle), ‘Bandies’ (Bandages), and ‘Big Pot’ (Large Shield Potion).
- Gameplay Tactics: Learn tactical terms like ‘Boxing’, ‘Chopping’, and ‘Phasing’.
- Skill Level Slang: Differentiate between ‘Bot’ (novice player) and ‘Cracked’ (expert player).
- Combat Jargon: Decipher combat terms like ‘Lasered’ (hitting a player with consecutive shots) and ‘One-Shot’ (a very weak player).
- Match Stages: Understand the phases of a game, including ‘Hot Drop’ and ‘Endgame’.
- Strategic Moves: Recognize strategies like ‘Tarping’, ‘Turtling’, and ‘Ultimate Height’ control.
- Game Mechanics: Learn about terms like ‘Vaulted’ (removed items) and game balance concepts like ‘Nerf’ and ‘Buff’.
Whether you’re new to the game, you’re only just teaming up with others for the first time or you’re watching somebody stream the game, you may be hearing some terms that don’t quite correlate with what you’re seeing in-game or seem to have absolutely no relevance whatsoever.
Understanding Fortnite Slang & Lingo
Right here on this page, we’ll cover the jargon you’ll usually hear while playing or watching Fortnite so that going forward, you’ll know all the lingo.
Some of the terms may be fairly self-explanatory, especially if you’ve played other shooter games, but we’ll go over absolutely everything anyway just to ensure you’re not left in the dark.
90s
“They’re cranking 90s”
90s are a building method with which you can gain altitude the quickest. When first discovered, shortly after the game implemented turbo build, this technique was the pinnacle of skill in relation to the building mechanic of the game.
To crank a 90, players run forward up a single ramp, but as they jump, turbo-build two walls and a ramp while turning 90 degrees to the left or right. This can be done three times in succession before jump fatigue sets in. Players then build out onto another single ramp then repeat.
AR
“I need an AR”
An AR, as you’d expect, is an assault rifle. While AR usually refers to a common, uncommon or rare standard assault rifle, it could also mean a burst assault rifle or SCAR.
Bandies
“I’m popping bandies”
“Bandies” is simply the slang term for bandages, which drop in stacks of 5 and can be used to heal 15hp every 5 seconds up to 75hp max.
Big pot
“I’m chucking you a big pot”
This person is chucking you a large shield potion, which will give you 50 shield after 5 seconds of use. Two of these can be used to top your shield up to 100.
Blanks
“I just hit another blank”
Blanks are when you see your bullet hit your enemy but no damage is registered due to a server issue.
Bot
“It’s okay, they’re just bots”
While there are AI players in Fortnite, the term “bot” was adopted for unskilled players before AIs were even a thing. “Bot” is still more often used to describe bad players than to refer to AI players, which are identifiable by their unusual movement and playing style.
Box
“He’s sitting in a box”
A full box is a set of builds, using any material, that involves four walls around a player, with floors below and above them, topped off with a cone for another layer of protection.
Boxed
“I’ve fully-boxed him”
Being ‘boxed’ is different from just sitting in a box in the fact that none of the build belong to you so you cannot edit them. If you’re boxed, your only way out is to break a wall which takes more time than an edit.
Broken
“This gun is broken”
If something is returned to as broken, then it’s usually particularly overpowered or offers unintentional uses or side effects.
Buff
“This gun needs a buff”
Guns that need a buff are guns that are unbalanced on the weak side. New guns won’t usually be used unless they compare in damage per second to scars or pumps. Places of interest can be buffed, too, by having increased chest or vehicle spawns, or being close to other areas or items that provide an advantage.
Choking
“I’m choking”
If your teammate says this, don’t panic unless they sound like they really are. Choking is used to describe losing a situation that was originally poised in your favour.
Having better guns, more health and the high ground but still losing the fight would be an example of choking.
Chopping
“They’re chopping!”
Chopping is when builds are broken from the bottom to bring the players at the top of them down. While “chopping” implies the use of harvesting tools, it still counts as chopping if being intentionally shot out.
Clutch
“That headshot snipe was clutch”.
Clutch is essentially the opposite of choking, where a player comes out on top against the odds. This could involve killing multiple players or surviving a fight with bad weapons or limited health.
Comms
“Great comms during that fight”
Fairly self-explanatory, but “comms” is short for communications. Having good comms involves calling out the actions you’re taking, the damage you’re doing, the things you’re seeing, remembering where items like shields have been left and offering advice while knocked or spectating.
Coned
“I’ve coned him”
Coning a player is blocking their route off with a cone so that they can’t build away. This usually enables you to box up that player to shift the feud in your favour.
Cracked
“Cracked the player on the left”
When somebody says they’ve cracked a player, it means they’ve removed all the shield from that player. It describes the sound that is made to indicate this, which sounds like a window smash.
Cracked (2)
“You’re cracked!”
“Cracked” can also be used to describe a highly skilled player.
Deagle
“Just found a gold Deagle”
While the gun itself is called a Hand Cannon on Fortnite, players still refer to it as the Desert Eagle which is the gun it replicates. This is then shortened to Deagle.
Dub
“That was our third dub in a row”
Dub is short for the letter W, which is short for “win”.
Endgame
“We just need to make it to endgame”
Although there is no defined time within the game which makes it the “endgame”, it is used to describe the point in the game where the playing style shifts from hunting players down and taking fights to boxing up and playing in a more coordinated manner.
In public matches, there will only usually be 2-4 teams remaining for the endgame as the storm is closing in. In competitive playlists, the endgame is where more placement points are won.
FAMAS
“I’ll need to carry an SMG alongside my pump as my AR is a FAMAS”
The Burst Assault Rifle on Fortnite is, in appearance, identical to the French assault rifle called the FAMAS, so players refer to it as this for short.
Farming
“I’ve been farming for about 10 minutes now”
On Fortnite, “farming” is the name given to actively gathering more building materials.
FOV
“This game has a terrible FOV”
“FOV” is an acronym for Field Of View, in the way that LFG stands for looking for group, which is the amount of the game you can see around your character.
GG
“GGs”
Universally used within the gaming community, GGs means “good games”, and is usually said following the completion of a game regardless of the outcome.
Goat/Goated
“That was a great play; you’re GOATed”
“GOAT” is an acronym for “greatest of all time”. While the person being described as this usually isn’t exactly the best player in the game, they likely would have just done something impressive or performed a noteworthy clutch play.
Harry Pottered
“He just Harry Pottered himself”
On Fortnite, your building piece options are walls, floors, cones and stairs/ramps. Harry Potter of course spent his childhood living under stairs, so the name is used to describe the action of getting stuck under stairs in the game.
Heal-off
“This game is gonna come down to a heal-off”
A heal-off is when the storm has fully closed in and players are required to use their heals to survive. Usually, the player with the most white heals will win the game, unless the player that has run out of heals can locate the rival healer and get a few bullets in them.
Hot Drop
“Lets hot drop this game”
Hot Dropping is landing at the first major POI at the beginning of the bus route. In most cases, this will be the POI that has the most players landing.
Knocked
“That team has two players knocked”
Being “knocked” is being in a “down but not out” state. While knocked, you’ll slowly lose health until you’re eliminated or resurrected.
Lasered
“Lasered one!”
“Lasered” is the term used when you’ve hit a player with a series of consecutive SMG or AR bullets as if you’ve just beamed them with a laser.
Low pad/short pad
“Low padding into zone”
“Low padding” or “short padding” is when you place a ramp behind you as you jump on a launchpad, which stops you from going too high up before gliding. This gives other players less time to laser you while you’re in the air.
Mats
“I’ve got max mats”
“Mats” is simply short for “materials”, which are the wood, brick and metal that you gather to build with.
Meds
“I’m low health; I need meds”
While “meds” can refer to any type of healing item, it’s more often used in place of a medkit or bandages.
Minis
“Do you need minis?”
Minis are small shield potions that heal 25 shield at a time, up to 50 shield maximum, at 3 seconds a pop.
Nerf
“This gun needs a nerf”
Nerf guns are toy guns that fire foam bullets. So, when we talk about “nerfing” a gun, we mean “make it weaker”. This is usually what we say when a particular gun is too overpowered.
OG
“That skin is OG”
OG is short for “Original Gangster”. So when a player, or a skin, or a point of interest are referred to as “OG”, it means they are or were amongst the first of their kind.
OP
“This gun is OP”
OP is short for “overpowered”, where a gun, item or location is unbalanced on the strong side.
One-Shot
“The red skin is one-shot”
The term “one-shot” is used quite loosely, and more often means that the player is weak than literally one-shot from death. While it’s supposed to communicate that one more shot with something like an AR would kill the player, it’s usually just used in place of “cracked”.
POI
“A new POI is on the map this week”
“POI” is an acronym for “point of interest” or “place of interest”.
Padding
“They’re padding north”
“Padding” means using a launchpad. It can be used when you’re immediately about to use one or when enemy players are using one.
Peaking
“The player near the tree is peaking”
Peaking means only partially using cover and often aiming down sight. If an enemy player is peaking, it means they’re easy to hit, but as soon as you peak yourself, you will likely get hit by them. If you communicate to your teammate that an enemy player is peaking, they’re often able to hit them from another angle.
Peppered up
“The team running East are peppered up”
This indicates that somebody is using either peppers, chilli splashes or spicy floppers, each of which allow players to run at higher speeds.
Phasing
“He’s phasing through my builds”
If a build is placed while a player is running through it, they’ll simply phase through it. This issue is worsened by you having a high ping or them having a particularly low ping. You can build all you want but they’ll seem to just keep running through it all while shooting you.
Piece control
“I’m going to try to piece control him”
Piece control is actively using your builds to take control of the fight, often by boxing in the other player, or, on a lesser scale, simply by taking surrounding walls.
Push
“Let’s push the team on the hill”
“Pushing” is aggressively taking a fight to an enemy team. It’s the action of putting pressure on a team by moving closer and initiating combat.
Res
“Res me!” (often screamed)
“Res” is short for “resurrect”. Teammates that are knocked can be resurrected before their health depletes or they are “thirsted”.
Rotate
“We need to rotate into zone”
“Rotating” is the action of moving into the next safe zone. While not always the case, the easiest route to the next safe zone often involves rotating around the edge of the previous safe zone, but it still counts as rotating if you “whiteline” it.
SCAR
“I’m going to upgrade to a gold SCAR”
“SCAR” is an acronym for “Special Combat Assault Rifle”, which the Epic and Legendary assault rifles on Fortnite resemble.
SPAS/Z
“I just found a gold SPAS!”
The Epic and Legendary variants of the pump shotgun use the design of the Franchi SPAS-12
Scrim
“That team thinks they’re scrimming”
“Scrim”, short for “skirmish”, is the word used by pro players in many games in place of “practice”. These practice games usually require an invite and the players involved will follow a set of rules to make the game play out more like a tournament match.
Shaking down
“They’re shaking me down”
In Fortnite Chapter 2, players were able to shake down a knocked enemy player to reveal the location of the rest of that enemy team. In Chapter 3 this is no longer a feature, however many game mechanics do come and go.
Siphon
“I’m thirsting this player for siphon”
“Siphon” on Fortnite is when you receive 50 health and 50 of each building material by eliminating a player. The mechanic was in all playlists for a short period during Chapter 1, however, it is now only in Arena and tournament modes.
Spray
“I’m just gonna spray at their builds”
“Spraying” is holing down the trigger on an automatic weapon, such as an AR or an SMG, where aim and accuracy aren’t part of the equation. It can be used either with the hope of getting a kill or as a way to stop an enemy from ressing another.
Stacked
“This lobby is stacked”
A “stacked lobby” is a lobby with a high number of players in the endgame. Having pro players included in those endgames will make them more stacked.
Stretched Res
“I wish they’d bring back stretched res”
“Stretched res” was the act of changing your game resolution to “stretch” it, which gave a greater FOV.
Surge
“We need to do more damage before surge”
On Fortnite, when there are too many players alive at certain points of the game, “Storm Surge” takes place to inflict and eliminate the players that have dealt the least amount of damage throughout the game. It will only stop when there are a certain amount of players remaining.
Sweat
“The player up top is a sweat”
“Sweat” doesn’t necessarily mean that the player is good, although they usually are. Players that are sweating are putting in much more effort than required to get the same outcome. Otherwise known as “tryhards”.
TTV
“Why do all these players have TTV in their name?”
TTV is short for TwitchTV, and those players are advertising that they are live streaming on the platform. These players will almost always fall into the “sweat” category.
Tac
“I’m only finding tacs”
While there are other guns in the game that have “tactical” in the name, the word “tac” has been exclusively adopted as a shortened way of saying “tactical shotgun”.
Tagged
“Tagged the player on top of the building”
“Tagged” means that you’ve done a small amount of damage to an enemy player. This is communicated because if it happens a few times within a short period of time it could help make the decision to push that team, especially if one gets cracked.
Tarping
“The team east is tarping across to the hill”
“Tarping” is a building manoeuvre in which players rotate to a new location one box at a time in quick succession, covering all angles with builds.
Thirst
“I think he’s coming over for the thirst”
Although originally used to describe an enemy player as being thirsty or desperate for kills, thirsting does have legitimacy in competitive playlists due to the siphon mechanic. It’s the act of rushing to kill a player after knocking them.
Turtling
“They’re turtling on low-ground”
“Turtling” is similar to “tarping”, except it’s usually exclusive to ultimate low-ground and the players do not necessarily have to be rotating. It’s like a static tarp on the ground. Similar to boxing up but with more boxes involved.
Ultimate Height
“We’ve got ultimate height”
“Ultimate height” is the team that is positioned the highest within the builds in an endgame.
Ultimate Low-ground
“They’re on ultimate low-ground”
When there are many layers of build going on during an endgame, “ultimate low-ground” is used to describe the team that is lower than everyone else. They’re more often than not on natural land.
Vaulted
“My favourite gun has been vaulted”
“Vaulted” is the term used by Epic Games when an item is removed from the game but not completely deleted from their files. Items can also be un-vaulted and often will be throughout a season or when a new season arrives.
W-key
“We’re going to have to W-key for kills”
“W-keying” is certainly not exclusive to Fortnite. The W key on a keyboard is the default “move forward” key and is usually kept this way by players. “W-keying” is actively pushing as many players or teams as possible to get kills.
Whiteline
“Just whiteline straight to zone”
“Whitelining” is taking the fastest, direct route to the next safe zone, which is indicated on the mini-map as a white line.
Whites
“He’s on whites”
Being “on whites” means a player has no shield. It can also be used to describe the healing items that heal white health. They’re called “whites” as this is the colour of the damage numbers when a player has no shield.
Zone
“We’re not quite in zone”
The “zone” is the area within the next safe circle that will not be closed in on by the storm until at least the next storm phase.
Want to know about other internet slang words like IFYKY and NSFW? Check out our Internet Slang Database!
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