League of Legends Word Guide: Game Terms Explained

For the bigger picture and full context, make sure you read our main guide on League of Legends Meanings: Understanding Key Terms In Game.

Ever felt lost in a League of Legends match because you didn’t understand what your teammates were saying? Mastering the 'league of legends word' is crucial for effective communication and strategic gameplay. This guide breaks down essential terms to help you navigate the Rift with confidence.
At a glance:

  • Decode common League of Legends jargon and abbreviations.
  • Understand strategic terms related to laning, team fighting, and objectives.
  • Learn how to use in-game terminology for clear communication.
  • Avoid common communication pitfalls that can cost you the game.
  • Quickly reference terms for items, champion nicknames, and more.

Deciphering the League Lexicon: General Gameplay Terms

League of Legends has developed a unique vocabulary over the years. Knowing these terms is essential for understanding guides, watching streams, and communicating with your team. Let’s break down some of the most common ones:

  • 1v1: A duel between two players, often used to assess a champion's strength in isolation. For example, players might 1v1 in mid lane or on the Howling Abyss map to practice their mechanics.
  • AA/Auto Attack: Your champion's basic attack. Knowing when to weave auto attacks between abilities is key to maximizing your damage output.
  • All-in: Committing to a fight with all your available resources. Before you all-in, assess the situation to avoid a costly mistake.
  • Back: Retreating to your base to heal, buy items, or regroup. Proper backing timings can prevent being caught out and losing lane advantage.
  • Bait: Luring the enemy into a trap. A common strategy is to pretend to be low health to entice enemies to chase you into a bush where your teammates are waiting.
  • Broken: Used to describe something that is considered unbalanced or overpowered in the game. This can refer to a champion, item, or strategy.
  • Buff: A positive effect on a champion, or a change that makes something more powerful. Securing jungle buffs like Blue (Crest of Insight) and Red (Crest of Cinders) can provide significant advantages.
  • Burst: Dealing a large amount of damage in a short period. Burst damage is crucial for quickly eliminating priority targets in team fights.
  • Camp: Repeatedly ganking an enemy laner. This strategy can shut down an enemy carry, but it can also leave your other lanes vulnerable.
  • Carry: A champion designed to become powerful by acquiring resources and leading the team to victory. Examples include ADCs like Jinx and hyper-scaling mages like Veigar.
  • CC/Crowd Control: Effects that limit movement or actions, such as stuns, slows, and roots. Champions with strong CC are valuable for engaging and disengaging fights.
  • CD/Cooldown: The waiting time before an ability can be used again. Managing your cooldowns effectively is essential for maximizing your impact in fights.
  • Cheese: An unexpected or unconventional strategy, often used early in the game to gain an advantage. For example, a level 1 invade to steal the enemy's jungle buff.
  • Clutch Move: A well-timed action performed under pressure that turns the tide of a fight or game.
  • Commit: Deciding to fully engage in a fight without the intention of retreating.
  • Counter Gank: Responding to an enemy gank by ambushing them. Good map awareness is essential for executing successful counter ganks.
  • Counter Jungle: Invading the enemy's jungle to steal their camps. This can disrupt the enemy jungler's farm and put them behind.
  • Counter Pick: Choosing a champion specifically to exploit the weaknesses of an enemy champion.
  • Counterplay: Actions taken to counteract a champion, ability, item, or rune.
  • Cover: A request from a teammate for you to defend their lane while they are away.
  • Deny/Denial: Preventing the opponent from earning gold and experience. While not directly implemented in League of Legends, zoning and harassing can achieve similar results.
  • Disengage: Successfully retreating from a fight. Champions with strong disengage abilities like Janna are valuable for protecting their team.
  • Dive: Attacking an enemy under their turret. Diving is risky but can be necessary to secure a kill or objective.
  • DoT: Damage over Time. Champions like Teemo and Cassiopeia rely on DoT effects to deal damage.
  • DPS: Damage per Second. A measure of how much damage a champion can deal consistently over time.
  • Drag: A call to contest the Dragon (now Drake) neutral objective.
  • Duelist: A champion who excels in one-on-one combat. Examples include Jax and Fiora.
  • Exp/XP: Experience points. Essential for leveling up your champion and unlocking abilities.
  • Face Check: Blindly walking into a brush to check for enemies. This is generally a risky move and should be avoided unless you have vision or your team is nearby.
  • Farm/Farming: Killing minions to obtain experience and gold. Efficient farming is crucial for scaling into the mid and late game.
  • FB: First Blood. The first kill of the game, which grants bonus gold.
  • Fed: A champion who has become disproportionately powerful due to acquiring a significant lead in gold and experience.
  • Feed: Repeatedly dying to the enemy team, giving them gold and experience.
  • FF: Forfeit/Surrender. A vote to end the game prematurely.
  • Flank: Approaching the enemy from the side or behind to attack their backline.
  • Fog/FoW/Fog of War: Areas of the map outside the vision range of allies.
  • Fountain: The platforms in each team's base where champions respawn and can purchase items.
  • Full Damage: Building all offensive items, sacrificing survivability for maximum damage output.
  • Full Tank: Building primarily defensive items to maximize survivability.
  • Gank: Ambushing unsuspecting enemies in a lane.
  • Gap Closer: An ability that reduces the distance between a champion and the enemy.
  • GG: Good Game. A common expression of sportsmanship at the end of a match.
  • Glass Cannon: A champion/build with high damage but low defense, making them vulnerable to being quickly eliminated.
  • Global: An ability that can strike anywhere on the map. Examples include Gangplank's ultimate and Pantheon's ultimate.
  • Harass: Attacking an enemy while they are preoccupied, without fully committing to a fight.
  • Int: Intentional feeding. Purposefully dying to the enemy team.
  • Innate: A champion's passive ability.
  • Invade: Entering the enemy's jungle early in the game to steal camps or gain vision.
  • Juke: Feinting an enemy into the wrong direction.
  • Jungling: Killing monsters in the jungle to gain experience and gold.
  • Kite/Kiting: Maintaining distance while damaging a pursuing target.
  • KS: Kill Steal (a kill secured by an ally that could have gone to you). Often used jokingly, but sometimes a source of frustration.
  • Laner: The champion occupying a specific lane during the early game.
  • Lane Bully: A champion designed to dominate the laning phase through aggressive trading and harassment.
  • Leash: To help the jungler with their first jungle camp clear by attacking the monster and drawing its attention.
  • LP: League Points. Used to track your progress in ranked play.
  • Main: A player’s most played champion and/or role.
  • Map Awareness: Monitoring the minimap for enemy movements. This is a crucial skill for making informed decisions and avoiding ganks.
  • Meta: The current state of the game, including the most popular and effective champions, items, and strategies.
  • MIA: Missing in Action (enemy location unknown). Often used to warn teammates that an enemy laner is missing and may be roaming.
  • Nerf: A change that makes something less powerful.
  • OOM: Out Of Mana.
  • OP: Overpowered.
  • Peel: Protecting carries from enemy damage by using crowd control and other defensive abilities.
  • Pick: Catching an overextended enemy out of position.
  • Ping: In-game visual alert indicator to communicate with teammates.
  • Poke: Harassing an enemy with abilities from a distance.
  • Point and Click: An ability that simply requires the player to point the mouse and click to aim and land the spell.
  • Powerspike: The level (or point in time) when a champion experiences a significant boost in their strength, often due to completing a core item or reaching a certain level.
  • Priority (prio): When your minion wave is being pushed toward the enemy base, giving you an opportunity to roam or secure objectives.
  • Push: To kill a minion wave quickly to advance towards the enemy turret.
  • RP: Riot Points. Used to purchase cosmetic items in the game.
  • Scale: A champion who becomes stronger as the game progresses.
  • Skill Shot: An attack that requires the player to aim it precisely.
  • Skirmish: A small fight consisting of any mix of 2v2, 2v3, or 2v4 engagements.
  • Smurf: A secondary account used to play at a lower rank than your main account.
  • Split Push: Pushing out a side lane to create pressure on the enemy team, forcing them to respond.
  • Squishy: An easy-to-kill champion, typically with low health and defenses.
  • Summs: Summoner Spells.
  • Support: The bot lane role paired with the ADC, focused on protecting and enabling their carry.
  • Sweep: To use the red trinket or control ward to clear out enemy wards, denying them vision.
  • Synergy: When champions have kits that work well together.
  • Tank: A hard-to-kill champion with a high amount of sustain, defenses, or health.
  • TP: Teleport.
  • Trade: When two players attack each other simultaneously, exchanging damage.
  • Zone: Preventing enemies from farming or securing objectives by threatening them with damage or crowd control.
    For a more comprehensive overview, review Understanding League terms.

Item Abbreviations: The Shopkeeper's Secret Language

Efficiency in the shop is paramount. Knowing item abbreviations saves time and keystrokes, allowing for faster purchases and clearer communication.

  • AAS: Archangel's Staff
  • BC: Black Cleaver
  • BE: Blue Essence
  • BF/BFS: B. F. Sword
  • BoRK/BotRK/BRK: Blade of the Ruined King
  • BT: Bloodthirster
  • BV: Banshee's Veil
  • ER: Essence Reaver
  • GA: Guardian Angel
  • IE: Infinity Edge
  • QSS: Quicksilver Sash

Champion Nicknames: From Alistar to Ziggs, Briefly

Long champion names are cumbersome. Nicknames foster quicker chat and strategy adjustments.

  • Ali: Alistar
  • Ani/Aniv: Anivia
  • Blitz: Blitzcrank
  • Cait: Caitlyn
  • Cass: Cassiopeia
  • Cho: Cho'Gath
  • Dar: Darius
  • Eve: Evelynn
  • Fid/Fiddle/FS: Fiddlesticks
  • Franky: Vi
  • GP: Gangplank
  • Grag: Gragas
  • Hec/Heca: Hecarim
  • Heim/Heimer: Heimerdinger
  • Ire/Irel: Irelia
  • J4/Jar/Jarv: Jarvan IV
  • Jay: Jayce
  • Kar/Karth: Karthus
  • Kass: Kassadin
  • Kat: Katarina
  • Kay: Kayle/Kayn
  • Ken: Kennen
  • Kha/K6: Kha'Zix
  • Kog: Kog'Maw

Communication Pitfalls to Avoid

Clear communication wins games. Here are some common mistakes and how to avoid them:

  • Overusing Jargon: While knowing the 'league of legends word' is important, avoid using overly complex or obscure terms that your teammates may not understand. Simplicity is key.
  • Being Vague: Instead of saying "help," specify where you need help. For example, "Need help at Dragon!"
  • Blaming: Focus on solutions, not blame. Instead of "GG, jungle diff," try "Let's ward deeper in their jungle next time."
  • Ignoring Pings: Pay attention to your teammates' pings, as they often indicate important information about enemy movements or objective timers.
  • Typing Too Much: Excessive typing distracts you from the game. Use pings or voice chat for quick communication.

Practical Playbook: Quick Communication Tips

  • Use Pings Effectively: Master the different types of pings (e.g., danger, assist, on my way) to convey information quickly and accurately.
  • Be Concise: Get straight to the point. Use short, clear sentences to communicate your intentions.
  • Prioritize Information: Focus on conveying the most important information first. For example, "Enemy jungler bot, no flash."
  • Be Positive: Encourage your teammates and avoid negative comments. A positive attitude can improve team morale and performance.

Quick Answers: LoL Terminology FAQs

  • What does "tilt" mean? "Tilt" refers to a state of frustration and anger that negatively impacts your gameplay.
  • What is "ELO"? While technically outdated, "ELO" is still commonly used to refer to a player's skill rating or MMR (Matchmaking Rating).
  • What does "diff" mean? "Diff" is short for "difference" and is often used (often sarcastically) to imply that one player in a role is significantly better or worse than their counterpart on the enemy team. For example, "Top diff" suggests the top laner is the reason for winning or losing.
  • What is "coinflip" in League? A "coinflip" game is one where the outcome feels largely random or determined by factors outside of your control, such as having teammates who are significantly less skilled.

Actionable Close

Mastering the 'league of legends word' is an ongoing process. Stay curious, observe experienced players, and don't hesitate to ask for clarification. Your improved communication will translate to better teamwork, smarter decisions, and ultimately, more victories on the Rift.