Our skateboarding lingo list is a collection of definitions to communicate specific tricks or feelings. If you want to learn skateboard slang, look no further.
Check out our skateboarding lingo dictionary.
Skateboards lingo. A words and expressions dictionary.
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| Air | When you and your skateboard leave the ground. Can also be measurable e.g. ‘He got 3 feet of air’ |
| Airing | When you are getting air |
| Airwalk | When you stride/kick one leg forward and one leg backwards while you have Air, mimicking a walk. |
| Alley-oop | A transition trick that involves spinning in one direction while airing to the right. |
| Am (amateur) | Someone who does not skate professionally. |
| Anchor grind | A trick where you grind the front truck on an obstacle while the tail is lowered like an anchor to the side. |
| Bail | 1. When a trick is abandoned during the attempt. This can involve kicking the board away to avoid injury. 2. When you fall |
| Bank | An incline for riding up and performing a trick |
| Barley grind | A frontside 180 to switch smith grind *first performed by Donny Barley |
| Beni-Hana | A grab trick. While the skater is airing, the front foot pushes the board forward while the left leg hangs. The move is finished by grabbing the tail and landing on both feet. |
| Bigflip | A 360 flip combined with a backside body varial. |
| Bigspin | A 360 shove-it combined with a body varial in the same direction. |
| Bluntslide | A stall where the back truck sits on an obstacle as the nose points towards the sky. A quick pop is required to return down and complete the trick. |
| Boardslide | A slide where the nose is placed above an obstacle or rail, and the deck slides between the trucks. |
| Body Varial | A trick where you jump and rotate 180 degrees (your board doesn't rotate) |
| Bomb a Hill | To skate down a hill;generally a big hill. |
| Bowl | A feature of a skatepark or ramp where the transition is concave in a 360 degree bowl shape. |
| Burly | 1.A trick prone to danger 2. To be strong or tough |
| Bust | A place where you are likely going to be removed or arrested for trespassing |
| Busted | When you have been removed or arrested for trespassing *sucks to be you |
| Boned | A trick where the board is dipped down and the legs are almost horizontal while airing |
| Boneless | A trick where you grab the centre of the board with your hand and plant one foot on the ground to pop the board up. The trick is completed when you land with both feet on the board. |
| Caballerial / Full Cab | A fakie ollie 360 |
| Carve | A stylized turn - normally in a pool, large bowl or transition |
| Casper Slide | A trick where the skateboard is flipped darkside up as the back leg balances on the back of the deck and the front foot hooks underneath the front bolts while sliding. |
| Casperflip | A trick where a board is turned onto back foot as the front bolts touch your shoe laces.The board is then flipped back with a 180° turn |
| Catch | To interrupt the spin of a skateboard by touching it with your feet. |
| Cess Slide | To slide sideways on all four wheels while skating a transition. |
| Chip | When a piece of wood breaks off the deck |
| Concave | 1.The sunken indentation on the surface of a skateboard deck. 2. Describes the inward curve of a transition |
| Convex | Describes the outward curve of a transition |
| Coping | Material attached to an obstacle for easier grinds and slides |
| Crooked Grind | A nosegrind where the nose of the deck also rubs against the rail as the tail is raised in the opposite direction. |
| Darkside | An upside down skateboard. The darkside is the side the trucks baseplate is connected to. |
| Deck | The wood or plastic surface of the skateboard. |
| Delamination | When the veneers of a skateboard deck start to peel apart and form a gap, or crack. |
| Demo | A demonstration by professional skaters of their skills. A demo is normally hosted by skateparks and shops. |
| Disaster | A 180 ollie where you land the center of the board. This trick is prone to snapping decks, hence the name ‘Disaster’ |
| Double Set | A stairway containing two sets of stairs separated by a landing |
| Double Sided Ledge | A narrow ledge for boardslides |
| Drop In | 1.The act of dropping down from a platform into a transition. 2. A name for an obstacle that can be used for a drop in eg ‘The lip of the bowl as a drop in’ |
| Dropping! | A safety alert to other skaters that they are dropping in. |
| Dual Durometer | A wheel constructed out of two urethanes to produce unique riding characteristics. Generally, the core layer is hard to support the bearings and the outer layer is soft to produce a smoother ride. |
| Durometer | The hardness of a wheel. This is measure by a number eg 99a |
| Early Grab | When a skater grabs the board before airing. |
| Escalator | A slope on the coping of quarterpipe or halfpipe ramp. |
| Extension | An extended part of a ramp |
| Fakie | When you ride backwards with the tail facing in the direction of travel. |
| Fast plant | An indy grab with a back foot plant - after an ollie. |
| Feeble Grind | A move where the back truck is grinded against a rail while the front truck hangs over the far side of the rail. |
| Flatbar | A rail/bar that is level with the ground for grinds and slides. |
| Flatbottom | The flat surface at the base of a transition. |
| Flat Ground | A flat area for skating with an obstacle. |
| Flatspots | Flat area of a skateboard wheels from damage. These can often be spotted by a clean area where urethane has been scraped away. |
| Flip | To make your board rotate on its lengthwise axis. Eg a kickflip. |
| Fliptrick | Any move that involved spinning a skateboard. |
| Focus | To intentionally break your board in half. |
| Footie | A video recording footage |
| Freeze Frame | A single frame from a video or still camera. |
| Frontside | When performing a rotation trick on flat ground the rider faces the direction of travel for the first 90-180 degree. |
| Frontside Flip | A frontside ollie 180 combined with a kickflip |
| Funbox | A box shaped obstacle with grindable and slidable surfaces |
| Gap | The distance between two riding surfaces |
| Gnarly | Difficult or challenging Excellent |
| Goofy | When you skate with your supporting foot on the tail rather than the front bolts. |
| Grab | When you hold the centre of the deck (generally while airing) |
| Grind | Any trick where the truck grinds along the edge of an obstacle. |
| Grommet / Grom | Slang for a young skater. |
| Gyrate | To flex your legs at the right moment on a transition to gather speed |
| Half Cab | A half caballerial. The trick is essentially a fake ollie 180° |
| Halfpipe / Vert Ramp | A semi circular ramp for transition skateboarding |
| Handrail | A rail at waist height on a set of stairs or ramp. |
| Hang up | When your trucks do not clear the coping and stall while on a transition. A hangup is generally an error. However, it is considered a trick if you can recover and continue down the transition. |
| Hanger | The axle and pivots of a truck used for grinds. |
| Hardflip | A frontside 180 combined with a pop shuvit and kickflip |
| Heelflip | A trick where the skateboard is kicked forward and flipped 360 degrees along the board’s long axis. |
| Hip | The semi vertical edge of an obstacle where 2 riding surfaces meet. |
| Hip Ollie | A trick where you Ollie off a hip. |
| Hipper | A hip bruise. |
| Hurricane grind | An ollie 180 followed by a front facing tail ground. |
| Impossible | With either the front or back foot the nose is wrapped around the opposite foot 360 degrees. |
| Indy grab | When airing you use your back hand to grab your toe edge and poke the nose of your board forward. |
| Invert | A one arm handstand on an obstacle while the opposing hand grabs the skateboard. |
| Judo | A trick where the skater grabs the nose of the board and kicks the front foot forward (like a judo kick). |
| K-grind | see crooked grind |
| Kickflip | Flipping the board along its lengthwise axis 360° |
| Kickflip Underflip | A kickflip where the rotation of the board is stalled and reversed with an darkside kick. |
| Kinked Rail | A rail with a deformity. |
| Land | When the board is landed on the ground, signifying the completion of a successful trick. |
| Late Trick | A trick that is executed late into a move. |
| Launch Ramp | A ramp designed for launching a skateboarder in the air. |
| Ledge | Any raised surface or obstacle used for grinds and slides. |
| Lien Air | A trick where you grab the heel edge of the deck while airing frontside. This trick was Niel Blender, Lien = Neil spelled backwards. |
| Line | Skateboard tricks performed in an order. A planned course through a skate environment |
| Lip | The edge of an obstacle |
| Lipslide | Similar to a boardslide, however you get on to the obstacle by putting your back truck over the rail first. |
| Local | A skater who lives nearby a designated skate spot. |
| Lock | see Hang up |
| Lock in | When a board is placed in a stable slide or grind position. |
| Madolly | A madonna air without a grab |
| Madonna | This is essentially a one-footed lien to tail. The lead foot is taken off and kicked out straight down behind the board. |
| Manuel | A move where the skater leans on the back of the board to raise the front trucks while balancing over the back trucks. |
| Manuel Pad | A raised surface for ollieing and dropping off. These surfaces are often used to perform a Manuel, hence ‘Manuel pad’. |
| Method | A truck where you grab your heel edge with your front hand and pull that same edge towards your back. Considered the ‘method’ since it’s a method to get more air. |
| Mini Ramp | A small halfpipe |
| Mongo | When you are incorrectly using your lead leg to push with your support foot on the back bolts of the deck. |
| Mute | An air grab where you placed your front hand on the toeside of the board. |
| No Comply | A trick where you plant your front foot on the ground pop the board with the board with the back foot. |
| Nollie | An ollie front of the board. The long name is ‘Nose Ollie’. |
| Nose | Front part of the the deck next to the forward mounting holes. This area is generally steeper and longer than the tail. |
| Nose Bonk | A quick nose grind together with a front truck bonk on the surface of an obstacle. |
