A Surf Guide - Surfing Slangs and Terms
Are you interested in surfing but don’t understand the surfing terms? Well, do not worry; you don’t have to join a surfing class to learn surf terms because we have compiled a list of surfing slangs and terms for your ease.
Surfing Slangs And Terms:
A-frame:A wave formed like a peak that equally breaks both right and left.
Aggro:Aggressive surfer or surfing.
Air or Aerial: A movement in which the board leaves the surface or the water/wave.
Akaw:Awesome, epic, cool.
Amped:Feeling excited/full of energy, pumped up.
Ankle slappers: Waves that are too small to ride on.
Backdoor:Going inside a tube or barrel from behind its peak.
Bailing: To jump off your board into the water to avoid a bad encounter.
Barney:A rookie surfer that is not cool, untalented.
Barrel: The curl of the wave or the hollow part of a wave when it is breaking.
Beach break: The places where the waves break over sandbars.
Benny:A person who is not native.
Bitchin’: Amazing, great— used as 'bitchen waves bro.'
Bodyboard:A small board that you ride on your belly, also referred to as a booger, a boogie board, dick dragged, or clam dragger.
Bomb:A giant wave.
Bottom turn: A turn that is made at the lowermost of the wave.
Break:When the swell of the water breaks and turns into waves and white water.
Bro:Short form of brother, dude, surfer—sometimes used for both male and female.
Carve:A sharp turn on the face of the wave.
Caught inside: Being trapped among the shoreline and the breaking waves.
Charging:Antagonistically going for a wave.
Choppy:Rough waves due to windy weather.
Chunder:Unquestionably un-surfable waves.
Clam Dragger: Female bodyboarder.
Clean wave: A smooth wave, without bumps.
Closeout:When a wave breaks unexpectedly and all at once.
Clucked: Being scared of waves.
Crease: Damage to the surfboard by the water impact.
Crest: The highest point or top of a wave.
Curl:The part of the wave where it is breaking.
Cutback: A sharp surf move done in the shoulder or the wave or on its flats to get back on the surf line.
Cutting off or Snaking: Catching a wave in front of a surfer, who was going for it and was closer to it, stealing a wave.
Dawn patrol: Going to surf first thing in the morning.
Deck: The top surface of the surfboard.
Dick dragger or clam dragger: A disparaging term referring to the action of lying down on a surfboard while riding a wave, usually used for bodyboarders.
Ding:Any damage done to a surfboard.
Double overhead - When the wave is twice the size of an average surfer’s head height.
Double up or humpback: When two waves combine, one large wave closely followed by a smaller one.
Drop:The first part of a ride, when a surfer goes down the face of the wave.
Drop-in:Alternative expression to cutting off but also to drop down the face of a wave.
Fin Chop: An injury caused by the fins of a surfboard.
Goofy Footed: A surfer who rides with the right foot forward.
Greenroom or Inside the Greenroom: Inside of a barrel.
Grom or grommet:A young and inexperienced surfer, rookie surfer.
Grubbing:Falling off the surfboard during surfing.
Gun:A big wave surfboard.
Hang Eleven: A male surfer who rides naked.
Hang Five: Riding a surfboard with one foot placed on the board's nose and five toes hanging over the nose.
Hang Loose: The salutation that accompanies the sign of Shaka.
Hang Ten: Riding a surfboard with both feet placed on the board's nose and your toes hanging over the nose.
Header:To fall off a surfboard from the front head first.
Heavy:Big, incredible waves that are sometimes dangerous.
Helicopter: A move in which the surfer spins their surfboard around from its nose.
Hit the lip: When a surfer turns up their surfboard to hit the falling lip of the wave, allowing the surfboard to be smashed down.
Hodad:A person who passes the time on the beach but does not surf.
Hollow:Barrels, tubes.
Impact zone: Place where the waves are breaking the hardest, and beginner surfers can get hurt.
Inside:The place among the shore and the impact zone.
Into the soup: Inside the foamy white water.
Jacking:When wave swells rapidly from deep waters to the shallow ones.
Jake:A surfer who accidentally comes in the way of more experienced surfers.
Juice:The power of the wave.
Junkyard dog: A poor style surfer.
Keg:A barrel, a tube, or something that holds beer after surfing.
Kick out: Finishing the ride by going over the back or through the wave.
Kickflip:Revolving the surfboard 360 degrees while in the air.
Killer: Term used to say that something is really good.
Kneeboard: A particular type of board intended for riding on knees.
Kook:Arookie surfer.
Layback:Laying backward on the wave.
Leash:The piece of material that ties the leg to the surfboard.
Left:A wave that breaks on the left of the surfer from the peak.
Line up: The water area, away from the swell, where surfers wait to get their turn at catching a wave.
Lines:The swell, when it is approaching the shore.
Lip: The upper-most part of a wave, right before it breaks.
Localism:Unfriendliness by local surfers towards non-local surfers.
Locked in: When a surfer gets caught inside a crashing wave.
Longboard:A surfboard with a round nose that is at least 8 feet long.
Lull:The moment of still between swells.
Macking:When the surf is quite intense.
Making the drop: Catching a wave and sitting on the lower part of the wave’s shoulder.
Maxed out: Waves that are too large to break without closing out.
Men in grey suits: Sharks.
Messy:Irregular and unpredictable waves.
MINIGUN: A speed shape surfboard that was designed for medium to large surf back in the 1960s.
Mullering:Wiping out.
Mush/Mush burger: Soft non-surfable waves.
Namer:A surfer who shares a secret surf spot with others.
Noah:Shark.
Noodled:Tired arms due to surfing.
Nose:The front and pointed part of the surfboard.
Nose guard: A rubber tip meant to protect the nose of the surfboard.
Nose ride: A longboarding move where the person surfs on the front of the surfboard.
Nug:A good wave.
Off the lip: Re-entry.
Offshore:Winds that are blowing from the land towards the ocean.
Onshore:Winds that are blowing from the ocean towards the land.
Outside:The place beyond the lineup and where the waves break.
Outside break: The furthest place from the shore where the waves are still breaking.
Over the falls: When a surfer goes over the lip and into the face of the wave.
Over gunned: When the board is unsuitable for the surfing conditions.
Overhead: When a wave is higher than a surfer.
Paddlepuss: A person who plays in the white water and is afraid to stray from the beach.
Party wave: A wave that can accommodate several people.
Peak: A breaking wave that generates both left and right surfable shoulders.
Pearl: When surfers bury the nose of their surfboard underwater.
Peeling: When a wave breaks perfectly in one direction or the other, or both.
Pigdog: A position that reflects the surfer grabbing onto the rails while inside a barrel.
Pintail: A surfboard design perfect for hollow surfing.
Pit: The barrel of a strong and large wave.
Pit Dive - When you cannot make the drop or end of diving into the bottom of the wave.
Pocket: The power pocket of a powerful wave and where a surfer wants to position himself.
Pointbreak: A type of wave that is found around a coastline with a headland.
Pop up: A surfer move, from lying on the surfboard to standing up to surf.
Pruned: A condition that happens to parts of your body, such as your fingers, when you have been in the water too long.
Pull in: When a surfer turns the surfboard up to enter a barrel.
Pumping: Term used to tell that the swell is substantial and consistent.
Quimby: A usually annoying beginner surfer.
Quiver: Surfboard collection of a surfer.
Racy: A swift surfable wave.
Rad/radical: Impressive and splendid surfing.
Rails: The sides of the surfboard.
Rail bang: Taking a surfboard between the legs while falling.
Raked over: Getting hit by strong waves when paddling out to catch a wave.
Rashguard: A Lycia shirt used to protect from the sun and from getting nipple rashes from the wax on the deck of surfboards.
Re-entry: When a surfer goes over or through the lip of the wave and then goes back in.
Regular footed: A surfer that doesn't face the wave on lefts.
Ricos:Flawless, rich.
Right: A wave that breaks on the surfer’s right from the peak.
Riptide: A turbulent stretch of water.
Rock dance: Moves made by surfers who exit through a rocky section.
Rocker: The curve under the surfboard.
Section– It is a location in the water, where the waves aren’t breaking and where surfers are waiting for their turn to charge and ride.
Set – A series of waves approaching the lineup.
Shacked – Riding a giant, big barrel but not quite barrelled with the lip, only overhead.
Shaka – A sign surfers use, extending the thumb and their little finger.
Shape– A term used to rate the breaking waves' quality (a wave breaking evenly is called the perfect shape).
Shore break or shorepound – Typically non-surfable waves that break very right on the shore.
Shoulder – The unbroken part of a breaking wave.
Shove-it – The act of moving the surfboard (360 or 180 60 degrees) under the surfer, however riding a wave.
Shubie: A person who buys surf clothing and a surfboard but does not surf.
Sick – Astonishing, amazing, and impressive.
Sketchy – Bad form during surfing.
Slotted – A surfer’s excellent position inside the barrel.
Soft board – A surfboard meant for beginners having a smooth surface.
Soup – Whitewater
Spat out – The action when a surfer leaves a barrel along with air and foamy water.
Spit – Water that gets spewed out from a barrel.
Sponger – A belittling term used for bodyboarder.
Stall – A surf move intended to slow down a surfboard.
Stick – A surfboard.
Stoked – Exceptionally happy, thrilled, pumped
Sucking dry – An action executed by powerful breaking waves that make the seabed become exposed.
Surf camp – A surf vacation that includes accommodation, a place where an instructor teaches surfing.
Surfer’s knots – Swellings on the leg’s backside below the knee due to kneeling on the surfboard while waiting for a wave
Swell/groundswell – Surfable waves.
Tail – A board’s backside
Take off – To catching a wave.
Through – The bottom of a wave when it starts breaking.
Tombstoning – When a surfer is wiped out and descending below the surface, and his/her surfboard is bobbling up and down, attached to the surfer with a leash.
Tow in –Big wave surfers use this term which means being towed in by jet ski to the area where the large waves are.
Tube –The wave’s hollow, barrel.
Tubular – Remarkable, outstanding, rad.
Turtle roll – A method used to get a surfboard to go through a breaking wave; it suggests hanging onto the rails, turning over so that a surfer is entirely underwater and the surfboard’s fins become visible.
Twin fin – The twin fin surfboard
Victory at Sea – Unrideable and big waves
Wall – A wave’s face with no area to ride on.
Washing machine – When a surfer gets rolled around underwater by a breaking wave.
Wave hog – A surfer who wouldn’t share a wave.
Wax– The substance used by surfers on their surfboard to improve traction.
White water – A foamy, broken wave
Wipeout – To fall off a wave during surfing
Worked– When a surfer gets knocked off by a wave and then gets in the washing machine