A Glossary of Surfing Lingo and Surfer Slang

Like any sport, hobby or pastime, surfing has its own history, culture and language. For first-timers heading out to the lineup, it can be hard to understand the influx of new words and phrases about the conditions, the boards, maneuvers and other surfers in the water.

Understanding those words, however, is essential to learning the nuances of the sport, making connections in the ocean and deepening your relationship with surfing. In this list below, we’ve gathered the most common phrases, slang, lingo and jargon used in surfing today. 

A-frame - a wave that breaks in a left and right direction at the same time.

Aggro - an Australian abbreviation for an aggressive surfer. 

Backdoor - when a surfer takes off late behind a breaking part of the wave and pulls into the open, barreling section in front of them. 

Backside - when a surfer rides with their back to the wave. 

Backwash - a wave or series of waves that bounce off of sand or rock and come back toward the surf. Often, this occurs at high tide and can disrupt the normal surf breaking toward the beach. 

Bailing - When a surfer lets go of their board, typically when paddling out to get underneath a breaking wave. 

Bank - a sandbar or a buildup of sand where a wave can break

Barrel - The open cylindrical part of the wave that is most hollow. Otherwise known as the tube, the pit, the curl or the green room. 

Bathymetry - the geography/measurements of the reef, sandbar or rocks below a breaking wave. 

Beach break - waves that break over a sandbar or onto a beach.  

Blank - the uncarved foam of a surfboard before it is cut and glassed. 

Bogging - occurs when a surfboard digs its rail too far into the wave face, causing the surfer to lose balance. 

Bottom turn - when a surfer turns their board at the bottom (or trough) of a wave and redirects away from the breaking lip.

Burn - when a surfer takes a wave from in front of another surfer who had priority. Also known as a drop-in. 

Chop - when wind or current ruffles the wave face. 

Cleanup set - a larger-than-usual set of waves that breaks further out than where most surfers are positioned. 

Closeout - a wave that breaks all at once and provides no entry into a rideable area. 

Corduroy - a description of numerous sets or waves about to make landfall. Usually observed from a high vantage point. 

Cross step - a technique of balancing whilewalking across the top of a longboard. 

Cutback - a turn where a surfer carves their board into the wave face and rotates 180 degrees back toward the pocket or lip.

Dawn patrol - surfing at sunrise or first light. 

Deck - the top of the surfboard from nose to tail. 

Ding - when a surfboard gets damaged. 

Doggy door - a small exit window out of a breaking wave. 

Epoxy - a type of resin used to coat EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) surfboards. Epoxy/EPS boards are typically lighter and stiffer than polyurethane surfboards.

Fin - the upright skeg placed on the bottom of the surfboard meant to improve control and speed. Fins can be a combination of single, double (twin), triple (thruster) or quadruple (quad), depending on preference and wave size.  

Firing - the waves are huge, clean and epic.  

Flats - the bottom, flat part of the wave in front of the whitewater. A hard area to generate speed and maneuver from.

Floater - a maneuver where a surfer rides on top of a breaking lip/whitewater and comes back down on the other side of it. 

Foam ball - churned and compact whitewater located at the deepest part of a hollow tube. You may hear “riding the foam ball” if a surfer was especially deep in the barrel. 

Frontside - when a surfer rides with their chest facing the wave. 

Froth - eager attitude, amped, excited.

Glassy - clean conditions, no wind or chop

Gnarly - awesome, intense, dramatic. 

Groundswell - a wavelength of powerful swell with a period of at least 15 seconds or more between waves. 

Gun - a large surfboard for large waves. 

Hang loose - originally a Hawaiian expression, it means to relax and be easygoing.

Impact zone - the opposite of easygoing, this is the area where waves break continuously. Don’t get stuck in the impact zone. 

Kick out - a maneuver to exit a wave over the top of it. Can be done by jumping off your board or aiming up and out while still on your feet. 

Kook - a beginning surfer, a learner, often used as a derogatory term for someone who is clueless. 

Leash - Also referred to as a leg rope. 

Line-up - the area where surfers sit and wait for waves. 

Lull - a period of time when there are no waves. 

Mushburger - a soft, slow and fat wave.

Mysto spot - a secret, off-the-radar wave.

Neoprene - material wetsuits are made out of. 

Offshore wind - wind blowing from land out to sea. Makes the conditions clean and better suited for surfing.

Onshore wind - wind blowing from sea onto land. Makes the conditions messy and difficult to surf. 

Over the falls - a whiteout in which a surfer gets sucked up to the top of the wave and then goes down into the whitewater. 

Out the back - a phrase used to indicate that a set of waves is coming from further out. If you hear this, start paddling out to avoid getting crushed

Paddle battle - a race between surfers to establish positioning and priority in the lineup. 

Party wave - when multiple surfers ride the same wave at once. 

Pearling - a whiteout in which the nose of the surfboard catches the water, thus throwing the surfer off balance. 

Polyurethane - a type of foam blank that is glassed with polyester resin. Most surfboards are built with this combination of materials. 

Priority - the hierarchy in which surfers take turns riding waves. Priority is determined by a formula of experience, skill level, local knowledge and positioning. Also known as right of way. 

Punt - another term for going to the air. 

PWC - personal watercraft, like a jet ski or small boat.

Quiver - a collection of surfboards. 

Reef break - a wave that breaks over a reef or coral bottom. 

Rip current - a strong current that moves from land to sea. Surfers can use rip currents to get out into a lineup, but be careful not to get stuck in one. 

Rocker - the curve of a surfboard from nose to tail. One of the key factors in determining the performance attributes of a board. 

Section - a general term for part of a breaking wave. “Hitting the section” is a common phrase.

Set - a series of waves in quick succession. 

Shacked - getting barreled. 

Shaper - a person who builds surfboards. 

Shoulder - part of the wave that is steep, open and ridable. 

Shore break - waves breaking onto land.

Skeg - another word for fin, a stiff, upright device meant to stabilize a board.

Slab - a thick, hollow powerful wave that barrels from start to finish. Expert only. 

Snaking - an aggressive move to catch a wave by going around or underneath a surfer who had the right of wave. 

Stall - purposefully slowing down wait for a barreling or more critical part of the wave to form.

Stick - another word for surfboard. 

Stringer - the wooden strip embedded from nose to tail on a board. It connects to foam blocks together.

Stoked - an excited, enthusiastic, joyous feeling. 

Take-off - Also called the popup, when a surfer gets to his feet at the start of a ride. 

Thruster - a board with three fins

Tow-in - when a surfer is holding a rope and is towed into a wave with a jet ski. Reserved for large surf only.

Trimming - a technique to stay high on a wave and find the fastest line possible. 

Turtle roll - a technique for longboarders to get underneath breaking waves while paddling. When the wave is about to hit, grab the rails and turn upside down so the bottom is facing skyward. 

Wave period - the time it takes for two successive wave crests (the highest point of a wave) to pass a fixed point, measured in seconds. Typically seen on buoy readings, the longer the period the more energy in the swell. 

Wedge - a steep, unpredictable, unusually shaped wave. 

Whitewater - foamy water created where a wave breaks. 

Wipeout - falling off your surfboard when riding a wave.