Common Fortnite terms and their meanings

You might have difficulty understanding what your teammates are talking about if you’ve never played Fortnite or any other battle royale. You’ll eventually pick up all the Fortnite game jargon as you continue to play, but taking a quick look at our guide will give you a head start.

90s

90s is a specialized building technique, considered one of the fastest methods of reaching a player with a high-ground advantage. This is a relatively advanced method of building and requires a certain level of practice.

You need to place two walls, a floor, and a ramp, which lets you make 90-degree turns as you make your way up.

ADS

ADS is the shortened version of aim down sights. You can aim down your sights with almost all weapons in Fortnite using the right mouse button. Using ADS will increase your accuracy.

Aimbot

Fortnite had its fair share of hackers during its early days, but it’s safe to say it’s almost impossible to avoid running into cheaters every now and again. Aimbot is a popular cheat type in shooter games, and it’s also used to describe players with pinpoint, accurate shots.

Bad manners/BM

It’s hard to define what’s considered “bad manners” in Fortnite since it heavily depends on the player. Bad-mannered actions include rubbing a good play in your opponents’ faces. The best example of this could be queueing up a dance emote after taking someone down. 

Bait, baited

Baiting refers to tricking someone into doing what you planned from the beginning. If you see a player inexplicably trying to take the gunfight to close quarters and get you to follow them, they may be baiting you to a trap they’ve set somewhere.

Battle bus

The battle bus is the flying bus that carries all players to the island at the start of the match. Players jump out of the bus to their desired location on the map to start the game.

Big pot

Big pot is a common term for the Rare Shield Potion that gives players a +50 shield upon consumption.

Box

Box is a structure type that players build with four walls, a roof, and a floor. Building a box or boxing up is any player’s first line of defense against immense pressure.

Box fight

In some build fights, everyone involved may decide to start building boxes left and right. When all parties start building boxes, the fight turns into a box fight.

Buffed/Buff

In addition to working on new collaborations, Epic Games also releases balance patches by adjusting the power levels of guns. If a gun’s overall strength increases by Epic’s changes, it’s been buffed.

Build battle

While the kill feed instantly gets a new entry when two players spot each other in most shooter games, things can get messy in Fortnite. Most advanced players will start building a fort as soon as they see you, and you can quickly get into a build battle with them by building your structures to win the height advantage.

Bunny hop

Bunny hopping is a unique movement technique that allows players to move slightly faster than running.

Camper/Bush Camper

Campers are a common name given to players who stay in hiding for a long time until the opportunity to kill someone presents itself. Bush campers are a specialized Fortnite breed who hide in huge green bushes. The main advantage of hiding in bushes while playing Fortnite is that you’ll be able to see what’s happening outside, but no one will be able to see you unless they step inside the bush.

Choking

Choking usually describes players who lose a battle despite having the advantage. Dying to a player with a harvesting tool when you have a shotgun equipped can be a great example of this. Missing clear shots can also qualify as choking.

Clutch

Clutching refers to coming out of a tense situation by performing above expectations. Winning a one-vs-two skirmish can qualify as clutching it out, or you can also land a super far clutch sniper shot. 

Coned

If you destroy a player’s roof and build your own or trap them with a roof in any setup, you get to cone them into a corner. You can then edit your roof to take them down.

Cracked

Shooting players who are shielded up will cause you to hear cracking sounds. This means that your successful shots were enough to lower their shield. You can call any player who you’ve landed a couple of shots to remove their shields cracked to encourage your teammates to focus on them.

Players without shields will go down noticeably faster than players with shields.

Crank

Cranking is another popular term for busting out. It’s usually used when a player suddenly starts putting out an admirable performance. A typical usage would be: “You started cranking up back-to-back noscope shots, I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

Desert Eagle

The Desert Eagle weapon doesn’t exist in Fortnite, but it’s still used to describe the Hand Cannon. This is a popular gun in Counter-Strike, and Hand Cannon is a replica of it.

Dog house

Most houses with a lovely garden in Fortnite usually have a dog house in their backyard. Some dog houses can contain chests, while some quests may require you to take them down.

Double pump

Double pump was a powerful technique to take down enemies in Fortnite. Players would pick up two pump shotguns and would immediately switch to the second one after firing with the first shotgun. This was useful to remove the pump delay, but it was later nerfed, and you’ll still need to wait for the pump delay after switching to the first shotgun you fired with.

If you’re anticipating the return of double pump, you’ll have to keep waiting.

Downed/Knocked

Players will go down in a duos, trios, or squads match before being eliminated. This gives their teammates a chance to revive them, and you’ll get a notification for each enemy that goes down.

You can call anyone who fits the bill downed or knocked, letting your team know that you have the advantage in the skirmish.

Dub

Dub is usually used for the letter W, which stands for getting a win. Getting a dub means winning a game of Fortnite.

Editing

Each building piece you place can be edited. Editing any structure type lets you add windows and doors or change their shape entirely.

FAMAS

The Common and Rare tiers of the Burst Assault Rifle look exactly like a FAMAS. If you hear anyone asking you to give them one of your FAMAS, it means they just want a burst assault rifle.

First-shot accuracy

When you stand still and aim down sights (ADS), your next shot will have pinpoint accuracy. But, this won’t apply to back-to-back shots even if you’re standing still, since there needs to be a slight delay.

Full send

Full send is the Fortnite definition of going all-in in an aggressive manner.

Ghost peeking

Ghost peeking is another mechanic that was once trending in the Fortnite meta. Ghost peeking was usually done above walls only tall enough to cover half a player’s body. Players would crouch to hide behind them then stand up briefly to land a couple of shots.

Goated on the Sticks

Goated on the Sticks is generally a console term for players who are excellent at using their controllers. Controllers have two analog sticks, and if you’ve been performing exceptionally as a controller player, you can also become goated on the sticks someday.

Harry Pottered

During his earlier days, Harry Potter had to live under a staircase. If you aren’t keen on building, you may also find yourself stuck under other players’ staircases while playing Fortnite. When this happens, you’ll be Harry Pottered.

High ground

If you’re positioned higher than your opponent, you’ll have a high-ground advantage over them. You can have a high-ground advantage by building a fort higher than theirs or simply being on top of a mountain.

Hot drop

Some landing places are more popular than others due to their placement on the map or the loot they offer. You’ll be hot-dropping if you want to drop to any of the more popular points of interest.

Lasered

The term lasered describes the pinpoint shooting accuracy of a player. Players with decent aim will try to laser you down by connecting multiple back-to-back shots, making it impossible for you to react.

LeBron’s house

Some houses in Fortnite have it nicer than others. The homes with a basketball court attached to them are usually referred to as LeBron’s house since he’s a basketball player and wants to live in a house with a court to practice.

The most well-known of these houses is located in Retail Row, but any place with a basketball court can be referred to as LeBron’s house.

Loadout

Throughout a Fortnite game, you’ll collect many weapons and healing items. These items will take their place in your arsenal on the bottom of your screen and will form your loadout.

Low-ground warrior

While building is one of the core aspects of Fortnite, not all players will be able to pull it off. Players who can’t get better at building after hours of practicing usually turn into low-ground warriors over time, a common term used to describe players who try to play Fortnite by only building basic structures or without building at all.

Mats

While there are game modes where you can build without any requirements, you’ll need to harvest materials to build in normal Fortnite games. Mats is the shortened version of materials.

Meds

Healing items are a must-have to survive in Fortnite. Meds refer to any item that can increase your health. Remember, the term meds doesn’t include shields, since shields don’t increase your green health bar.

Minis

There are more than a handful of shield items in Fortnite. The term minis describes the smallest of them all, increasing a player’s shield by 25.

No scope

It’s mostly advisable to use sniper rifles’ scopes to land accurate shots. Not doing so will mean your shots will be less accurate, but landing killing blows is still possible. If you happen to take down any enemy without using your weapon’s scope, you’ll be no-scoping them.

OG

OG’s dictionary meaning is “original gangster.” The term is usually used to show respect for players who have played since Fortnite’s early days. Usually, the rare skins give it away, and some rare skins even make a comeback to the in-game shop with slight adjustments.

When this happens, the first version of the skin earns the OG title and indicates how long a player has been playing Fortnite.

OP

OP is the shortened version of overpowered. OP i1s generally an adjective used to describe weapons or in-game elements that are noticeably more powerful than their alternatives in Fortnite. Players will demand the game’s most OP moves, weapons or items, and those who get their hands on them have a better chance of winning a game on paper.

One-pump

When you get knocked down by a single-pump shotgun shot, you’ll be one-pumped. It’s used to describe that all it took was a single-pump shotgun bullet to take out your remaining health points.

One-shot/one-hit

If you’re getting taken down by a single shot from any other weapon than a pump shotgun, it means you were one shot. Most one-shots result from headshots from powerful weapons and may come as a surprise in most situations.

One-shot can also mean a player has only one shot of HP left in their tank, meaning anyone who gets to tag them will pick them off. This can also be referred to as “one hit.”

One-tap

Getting one-shot can feel terrible, but not if you’re the one with your finger on the trigger. When you kill a player with a single bullet, you essentially one-tap them and cause them to get one shot.

One-v-one

While you can play it slow to wait out the late game, you’ll need to take down another player to emerge victorious. It’s a one-on-one situation once it’s only you and a single enemy player battling it out.

Phasing

Phasing is a visual error that mainly occurs due to lag. If you see a player walking through a solid wall or a build, chances are they walked around it. If you or the enemy player lags out while this happens, it may seem like they walked through a wall.

Ping

Ping usually has two meanings depending on the context. If a player claims that they pinged an enemy player, they marked someone through the in-game communication and marking system.

Ping can also refer to lagging out. Higher ping values indicate that your connection to the Fortnite servers is in bad shape, and you may experience technical hiccups while playing the game.

POI/Point of Interest

Point of Interest, or POI for short, describes the landmarks on the Fortnite map. If a place on the map has a name of its own, then it’s a point of interest.

Popping shields

An alternative way of saying you took down an enemy’s shield is by saying that you popped their shield. A popped shield means an enemy is out of shields, and the following shots will start reducing their health points.

Pyramid

The roof building piece in Fortnite looks like the top edge of a pyramid. Roof pieces are commonly referred to as pyramids.

Quick-scope

While no-scoping is something to be proud of, the real experts make excellent use of the quick-scoping technique to increase their accuracy.

Quick-scoping means momentarily aiming down sight with your weapon so you can trigger the first shot accurately. If you land a kill while doing this, you can scope an enemy quickly.

Reboot card/van

When a player dies in a team-based mode, they drop a reboot card in their stead. After 90 seconds, the card will disappear. When a teammate has the card, they must take it to a reboot van to revive their teammate.

Res/Rez

Rez or res is the shortened version of the word resurrect. Other players in your team will be able to resurrect you after you get knocked down in squad matches.

Rocket ride

Rocket Ride was the stunt to perform in the earlier days of Fortnite. Players would jump onto RPG rockets and fly toward enemy buildings for a surprise attack.

Rotate

Rotation is used to describe most movements in Fortnite. Players that play together often have specific rotations they memorize. These rotations can include loot routes and unique places that they go to in a particular zone, or they can even be used to describe enemy movement.

Rubber-banding

Rubber-banding usually happens when you have incredibly high ping. Your characters look like they’re moving forward, but they frequently get pushed back, which causes a rubber-banding effect.

Siphon

Certain game modes in Fortnite featured a Siphon mechanic that lets players gain health and shield upon taking down an enemy. The siphon mechanic was later added into the competitive game modes of Fortnite as well, and has become a stable part of the game.

Spawn island

When you first join a game of Fortnite, you’ll find yourself on a peaceful island with other players. This is called the spawn island. Returning to the spawn island after jumping out of the Battle Bus is possible, but it’s almost never worth it.

Spray and pray

Though accuracy can mean a lot in shooter games, sometimes you’ll have to spray your weapon and pray that all your bullets hit the enemy. You’ll spray and pray when you start shooting with only the thought of survival.

Stream sniper

Stream sniper is a term commonly used by players who stream their gameplay on streaming platforms. Stream snipers watch a player’s stream to find them inside the game. Stream snipers can use this unfair advantage to take them down from an advantageous spot or offer them items.

Stretched resolution

Using smaller resolutions than your monitor’s native values will cause your game to be stretched. While it will undoubtedly look worse than usual, the player models are wider, and it’ll be easier to shoot enemies. But, it’s mostly down to personal preference, so you’ll need to test whether it makes aiming easier for you.

Sweat

Some players try harder than others to win at Fortnite. This extra effort to try hard may be too much and cause players to sweat. A sweat is a player who’s trying so hard to win, which necessarily isn’t a bad thing.

Tac

Tac is the shortened version of the Tactical Shotgun.

Tagged

The term tagged describes players you were able to shoot once or twice. Letting your teammates know about a player you just tagged can help them focus on the injured enemy.

Taking a wall

Building fights tend to be quite intense. If you take down an enemy wall and replace it with a wall of your own, you’ll be taking a wall.

The Storm

The Storm is the large circle surrounding the map at the beginning of the game. The Storm shrinks the longer you remain alive until little to no space is available. If you’re caught in the Storm, you take damage. 

Thirsting

Thirsting or thirsty are terms generally used for players who try to finish off an enemy immediately after taking them down. While there’s nothing wrong with eliminating an enemy, you’ll be putting yourself at risk since your teammates can be close to them.

Being thirsty for getting a kill can be a double-edged sword.

Tommy Gun/Thompson

The Drum Gun is one of the more popular weapons in Fortnite. It looks similar to a real gun usually referred to as a Tommy Gun or Thompson. Tommy Gun and Thompson are usually used to refer to the Drum Gun in Fortnite.

TTV

Changing your name in Fortnite is easy. When players decide to take up streaming, they may change their name to their Twitch address. Since typing the whole Twitch URL would be too long and wouldn’t fit the name requirements, most players shorten Twitch.tv to TTV.

Turtling

Turtling is used when a player starts playing entirely defensively. When a player turns it down, the aggression starts turtling; they may try to heal or revive a teammate.

Vaulted

While each Fortnite season has nerfs and buffs to the weapons available, they can also be temporarily removed from the game. When weapons are taken out of the game, they are vaulted.

W-key warrior

Some players don’t know the definition of backing down. They’ll always push you into a corner and continue to pin you down by moving forward. On PC, the primary way to move forward is by pressing the W key—hence the name W-key warrior.

Yeet

Yeet is an exclamation of excitement and surprise. It’s generally used to show that you appreciate something or to show your excitement about it.

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There’s a ton of Fortnite game jargon to wrap your head around, but it will all make sense with time. Before you know it, you’ll be using Fortnite game jargon to describe your everyday life and confusing your family and friends.

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