Esports Slang & Callouts — B2 Vocabulary Flashcards
Learn the slang casters and pro players use in esports: clutch, smurf, tilt, scrim, shot-caller and other callouts you hear at tournaments and on voice chat.
35 cards
B2
~12 min estimated study time
Free Gaming: Action & Racing vocabulary flashcards at the B2 level — all 35 words with definitions and examples. Study them with spaced repetition and recognize and use these words confidently in real conversations.
How to study Gaming: Action & Racing vocabulary with Budling
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Common Gaming: Action & Racing words in English
clutch
to win a round on your own when you are the last player alive on your team
comeback
a win by a team that was losing badly earlier in the match
smurf
an experienced player who uses a new, low-ranked account to play against weaker opponents
scrim
a practice match between two teams, played to prepare for real competitions
tilt
a state of anger after losing that makes you play worse and make silly mistakes
lurk
to move quietly away from your team to surprise enemies from behind
trash talk
rude, boastful remarks made to annoy opponents before a match and during it
ace
the act of one player defeating every player on the enemy team in a single round
grind
to play for many hours, repeating the same tasks to slowly improve your rank
feed
to keep dying to the enemy, which gives the other team extra gold and makes them stronger
callout
a short spoken message that tells teammates exactly where the enemies are
stack
to put several players together in one place on the map
toxic
rude and unpleasant toward other players, especially in text chat and voice chat
kite
to keep attacking an enemy from a distance while moving away so they cannot reach you
snowball
to turn a small early lead into a bigger and bigger advantage
choke
to fail at an important moment because of pressure
whiff
to completely miss a shot that should have been easy to hit
frag
to kill an opponent in a shooting game
bait
to trick enemies into a bad position, often by letting them chase you
poke
to do small amounts of damage from long range before a big fight starts
counterpick
a character chosen because it is strong against a character the enemy has already picked
bracket
the chart in a tournament that shows which teams play each other in each round
upset
a surprising win by a team that everyone expected to lose
underdog
a team that people expect to lose a match
roster
the list of players who belong to a team
qualifier
a competition that teams must do well in to get a place in a bigger event
caster
a person who describes and comments on a match for the people watching
shot-caller
the player who makes the main decisions for the team during a match
crossfire
a situation where enemies can shoot at you from two directions at once
macro
the big-picture strategy of a game, such as where the team moves and which goals to take
micro
a player's control of their own character in the small, fast moments of a fight
power spike
a moment when a character suddenly becomes much stronger, usually after getting a new item
tempo
control of the speed of a game, which you get by acting before the enemy can react
comms
the voice communication between players on the same team
MVP
the best player in a match, short for most valuable player