Valorant glossary: the terms players use in every match

The short answer

This glossary gathers the words Valorant players say in a match, grouped by family: economy, rounds and spike, teamplay, duels, abilities, communication. Each term fits in one to three sentences. When a guide on the site covers it in depth, a link takes you there.

Three numbers come up often. The spike detonates 45 seconds after the plant, and a full defuse takes 7 seconds. Defuse progress is saved at 3.5 seconds. On credits, you start each half with 800.

Definitions come from several glossaries we read, and their dates are given in the sources of the page. Numbers come from Riot's wiki. Player vocabulary shifts: keep the meaning, not the exact wording.

Economy

To decide what to buy, read the economy guide. Here, only the words.

• Eco: a round where you spend almost nothing to keep your credits.
• Half buy: a middle purchase, with a light weapon or armor, that leaves enough to buy more next round.
• Force buy: you spend everything you have without a true full buy, because the round matters.
• Full buy: primary weapon, armor and abilities, without counting on later rounds.
• Bonus round: the round after a pistol win, where the credit lead lets you buy better than the opponent.
• Pistol round: the first round of each half, where each team starts with 800 credits.
• Loss bonus: the income a beaten team receives: 1,900, then 2,400, then 2,900 credits on a losing streak.
• Save: you keep your weapon instead of playing a round that is already lost. A survivor of a lost round gets only 1,000 credits, in the cases Riot describes.

Rounds and spike

• Plant: placing the spike on a site. It takes 4 seconds, and the plant pays attackers 300 credits.
• Defuse: disarming the spike. A full defuse takes 7 seconds.
• Half defuse: a defuse started then canceled. Progress is saved at 3.5 seconds, and the next defuse restarts from that checkpoint. When the white sphere appears (7 s left), only a 3.5 s checkpoint already reached lets you finish.
• Tap the bomb (fake defuse): faking a defuse then stepping away, so the enemy thinks you are still on the spike.
• Post-plant: the phase after the plant, when the timer runs and everyone holds a position.
• Retake: clearing a site back after the spike is planted. It is the defenders' job.
• Clutch: winning a round as the last player alive on your team against several enemies.
• Ace: eliminating the whole enemy team by yourself in one round.

Teamplay and roles

• Trade: killing the enemy who has eliminated your teammate, to even the numbers.
• Refrag: the same act under another name.
• Entry: the first player into a site, who opens the fight.
• Lurk: playing alone, away from the group, to gather information, catch flanks or sneak a late plant.
• Anchor: the defender who holds a site alone while the others move.
• Rotate: changing plans and moving to the other site.
• Default: a spread-out setup with no committed plan, where you take space and react to information.
• Execute: a coordinated push onto a site, backed by utility.
• Split: attacking a site from two angles at once.
• Stack: grouping several teammates on the same site or zone.
• Fake: making noise or throwing utility on one site to pull defenders over, before attacking elsewhere.
• IGL: in-game leader, the player who plays the strategist and calls the plans.
• Flank: an attack from behind, or from an area the enemy thought was safe.

Duels and movement

• Peek: stepping out of an angle to see or fight the enemy.
• Jiggle peek: stepping out of a corner and back fast to gather information or bait a shot, without being able to shoot during the move.
• Shoulder peek: showing little of your body, often a shoulder, to draw fire. Some glossaries mix the two up.
• Wide peek (wide swing): coming out wide, past where the enemy is expected to aim, then counter-strafing to shoot.
• Prefire: shooting at a spot before the enemy appears, on a sound or a guess.
• Crosshair placement: keeping your crosshair at head height, where the enemy will appear. The crosshair placement guide covers it in depth.
• Counter-strafe: braking your movement with the opposite key to shoot accurately. See counter-strafing.
• Spray: firing continuously while recoil pushes your crosshair up.
• Tap: a single aimed shot, not a burst of fire.
• Burst: a few bullets in a row, shorter than a spray.
• One-tap: a kill with a single headshot.
• Headshot: a shot to the head, which deals more damage than a body shot.
• Wallbang: shooting through a wall that shows scorch marks to hit an enemy behind it.

To train these moves, use deathmatch.

Abilities

• Ult: an agent's ultimate ability, charged by points over the rounds.
• Utility: all of an agent's abilities, flashes and smokes included.
• Lineup: landing an ability on a set spot from a fixed position.
• Setup: the abilities placed on a site to hold or take an area. You will find ideas in the map guides.
• Smoke: a cloud that blocks vision, to advance or cut off an angle.
• Flash: an ability that blinds enemies, to enter a site or leave a duel.
• Molly: slang for area-denial incendiary abilities, for example Brimstone's Incendiary.

Agents and their abilities are described in the agent wiki.

Communication and meta

• Comms: the team's voice or text communication, for example info on an enemy you saw.
• Callout: the nickname of a map location, which places an enemy in one word.
• Tilt: the state of an annoyed player who performs worse because of their mood.
• Smurf: an experienced player on a new account.
• Ranked: the ranked mode, where every match moves your rank. To understand the spread of players, read the ranks guide.
• RR: Rank Rating, which measures your progress inside a rank, from 0 to 100 per division.
• MMR: a hidden rating of your real skill, separate from your displayed rank.

Common mistakes

• Mixing up trade and refrag. Glossaries treat them as synonyms: do not look for a nuance.
• Mixing up eco and save. An eco is a buy choice; a save is keeping your weapon on a lost round.
• Assuming a half defuse is always possible. It is only possible if someone already reached the 3.5 second checkpoint.
• Calling a spot without a callout. "Over there" helps nobody. A map name takes one word.
• Mixing up flank and lurk. A flank is an attack from behind; a lurk is a lone player's role.

How to use this glossary

You do not learn a glossary by heart. Here is an exercise over five matches: before each match, pick one term and apply it. Success criterion: you said it out loud at least once during the match, for example "retake B" or "trade". Move to the next term only when it feels natural.

Start with the callouts of your map. Road2Radiant map guides give translated official callouts, the attack and defense plan for each site and agent setups. Open the map you play most: the map guides.

This glossary promises no rank. It helps you speak the same language as your team.