Surfer Lingo: The Ultimate Surfing Glossary
Surfs up! It sounds like English, but what exactly does one mean by this? If you’re still reeling from your recent conversation with a group of surfers or just looking to learn more of what your friends are saying, then this surfer dictionary is definitely for you. We give you a comprehensive list of surfing terms that will get you talking like a local in no time.
Once you're updated on the lingo, you're all set for lineup banter. If you're also in need of some updated surf gear, be sure to check out our huge range of surfboard accessories and surfboards for sale. We have new styles landing every week from the best surf brands.
Table of Contents
A
Aerial – a surfing manoeuvre where a surfer intentionally hits the crest of the wave and makes ‘big’ air
A-frame - a perfectly shaped wave peak
Aggro - an Australian surfing term for aggressive surfers
Akaw! - an old expression of shock or surprise
Amped – extreme excitement
Ankle busters – small waves that difficult to ride
Ankle Biters – extremely small waves
Ankle Peelers – small surf that is barely rideable
B
Backdoor – moving into a hollow section from behind
Backside – surfing with your back to the wave
Backwash – waves returning from the beach to ocean often colliding with incoming waves
Baggies –knee length board shorts with a loose fit
Bail – a surfing manoeuvre used to avoid a possible wipe out
Barney – rookies or surfers with poor skills
Barrel - the curl or tube formed by the wave
Beach bum – person who usually spends lots of time on the beach
Beach Bunny – females who hang out in the beach watching surfers
Beach Leech – term used to describe surfers who don’t bring their own surfing equipment and simply borrow from others
Benny – someone who is not from the area
Betty – Old surfing term for attractive female surfers
Billabong – Australian slang term for a watering hole
Bitchin’ – when used positively it used to describe something amazing or beyond normal
Boardies – a general term for shorts used for surfing
Blown Out – strong winds that prevent waves from forming
Bodysurf - riding waves without the use of a floatation device or surfboard
Bogging – when a surfboard’s nose lifts up after a surfer shifts his weight towards the end of the board
Bomb – extremely big wave
Booger – bodyboarders, prone riding surfers
Boost – sudden jump to the air after taking off from the lip of a wave
Bottom turn – turning after reaching the bottom of a wave and returning to the optimal surfing line
Burn – hijacking a wave from another surfer
C
Carve – turning sharply on the wave face
Caught inside – finding yourself between the breaking waves and the shoreline
Chandelier – water descending from the barrel opening which could cause a wipeout
Charging – aggressive movement towards a specific wave
Cheater Five – five toes on the nose of the board
Chop – rough waves caused by strong winds and/or currents
Clam Dragger - refers to a female bodyboarder
Clean – ideal wave face type
Clidro – term to describe a surfer turning up and down the face of the wave a surfer
Closeout – wave that suddenly breaks with no shape or shoulder
Clucked – a person who refuses to surf because he is scared of the waves
Cranking – near perfect waves
Crease – surfboard damage caused by an impact
Crest – a wave’s highest point
Cross Step – walking/running up and down a longboard
Curl – part of the wave where it is breaking
Curtain – the walls of the barrel
Cutback – turns made on the flat or shoulder of the wave in an attempt to get back on the surf line
Cut Out – disengaging from a wave
D
Dawn patrol – surfing during the early morning
Deck – area on top of the surfboard
Dirty licking – taking an ugly wipeout
Doggy door – the exact time when a surfer about to exit the wave’s barrel before it closes
Double overhead – a wave twice the height of the surfer
Double up – a large wave followed by a smaller wave caused by two waves combining
Drop – the moment just after the surfer gathers himself after paddling and catches the first turn of the wave
Drop knee – surfing with one knee on the surfboard’s deck
Duck diving – pushing the surfboard down to get it under and through a breaking wave
Dumping – difficult to impossible surf conditions caused by onshore conditions
E
Eat it – wipe out
El Rollo – riding the inside wall of the barrel and coming out sideways
Epic – superlative, something beyond normal
Eskimo roll – surfing manoeuvre that enables a surfer to safely navigate a large or broken wave
F
Face – part of the wave where surfers usually ride
Fade – moving into the most powerful part of the wave
Fakie – riding tail first or backwards on a wave
Far out! – superlative, something beyond normal
Firing – feeling of joy when surfing
Flat – calm waters, absence of waves
Flats - shoulder of a wave or the horizontal part of a wave that is breaking
Floater – a surfer going on top of a crumbling section of the wave and ending up in the flats
Foam – whitewater
Foamies – waves formed by foam
Forehand/frontside – surfing facing the wave and your back to the beach
Froth – excited
Frube – a surfer who fails to catch a wave during his time in the water
G
Gidget – a slang term for ‘girl midget’ or small female riders
Goober – belittling term for long boarders or longboards.
Going off - great surf
Goofy foot- riding waves with your right leg forward
Green room – insides of a barrel
Grey belly – old surfer with a big belly
Grom – young surfer
Grubbing – falling off the surfboard
H
Hang eleven – a male surfing while naked
Hang five – surfing position where a surfer has one foot on the nose of the surfboard
Hang loose – Hawaiian expression for an easygoing attitude
Hang ten – placing all ten toes on the nose of the board while surfing
Haole - a Hawaiian surfing term for someone not local
Header – falling off a surfboard
Helicopter – surfing manoeuvre where a surfer spins the board from around its nose
Hit the lip – going for the falling lip of the wave
Hollow – barrels, tubes
I
Impact zone – point where waves break the hardest
Inside – area between the impact zone and the shore
Into the soup – inside the white water or foam
J
Jacking – waves swelling rapidly
Jake – refers to a surfer who unintentionally disrupts skilled surfers
Juice – the wave’s strength
Junkyard dog – surfer who lacks flair
K
Kahuna - magician
Keg –a tube or barrel
Kick out – exiting the end of a wave
Kickflip –360-degree surfboard rotation in the air
Kook – surfer with a low skill level, beginner, or poor technique
L
Left – wave breaking on the surfer’s left side
Lines – multiple swells approaching the shore
Line-up – spot at the back where surfers wait and catch waves
Localism – local surfers overly protecting their surfing grounds
Locked in – a term to describe a surfer who finds himself trapped inside a crashing wave
Lull – a break between sets of waves
M
Mack - big
Making the drop – riding a wave on the lower part of its shoulder
Men in grey suits – slang term for sharks
Messy – irregular waves
Mullering – same as wipe out
Mush/Mushburger – weak, non-surfable waves
N
Nailed – falling of a wave
Namer – surfer who shares his favourite surfing spots
New school – trick surfing
Noah – shark
Noodle arms – surfers with physically weak or tired arms
Nose – forward tip/area of the surfboard
Nose riding – surfing on the surfboard’s nose, commonly done in longboards
Nug – good wave
O
Off the lip – entering the lip of the wave
Out the back – moving into the line-up area by paddling through breaking waves
Outside – line-up area
Over the falls – moving from the lip into the wave’s face
Over gunned – finding yourself with the wrong surfboard for the surfing conditions
Overhead –waves that are higher than the average surfer
P
Paddle battle – Surfers battling for position to get first into a curl in an effort to get the right of way
Party wave – surfers riding a single wave
Peak – area in the ocean where the waves breaks left and right
Pearling – when a surfboard nose dives underwater caused by a surfer shifting his weight forward
Peeling – waves that break perfectly
Pigdog – describes a surfer who is grabbing the rails while inside a barrel
Pit – hollowest part of the tube
Pocket – most ideal position when riding a barrel or powerful wave
Pop-up – suddenly switching to a standing position when taking off on a wave
Pull in – moving the surfboard to enter a barrel
Pumping – near perfect surf conditions
Q
Quimby – an annoying, low skilled surfer
Quiver – refers to a surfer’s collection of surfboards
R
Racy – a good, quick wave
Radical – high-level surfing
Raked over – Swamped by powerful waves when paddling to catch a wave
Rail bang – get hit by the surfboard between the legs
Reef break - wave breaking over rocks or coral
Regular foot – riding waves with your left leg forward
Right of way – the practice of giving the surfer closest to the breaking part of the wave priority to enter
Rip – surf exceptionally well
Rip current/rip tide – a strong, sudden current that pulls you seaward
Rogue wave – an irregular, big, open ocean wave
S
Section – area in the water where surfers are waiting to catch a ride
Set – series of waves
Shaka - a Hawaiian hand gesture for "hello," and "alright"
Shoaling – waves suddenly increasing in height after entering shallower waters
Skeg - old surfing term for surfboard fin
Snaking – aggressive paddling to get the right of way on a wave
Stall – a deliberate attempt to slow down the surfboard to allow the tube to catch up with the surfer
Stance - your feet position while standing on a surfboard
Stoked – strong sense of excitement
Swell – increasing wave size produced by strong distant storms
T
Take-off - start of the ride
Tow-in – catching waves with the help of a watercraft
Trimming – positioning yourself for the perfect surf line
Tube – also referred to as the barrel, it is the wave’s interior
Turtle roll – flipping the board over to get under an incoming wave
W
Wahine – female surfer
Wall – area/face of the wave impossible to ride on
Wave hog – a surfer who keeps the wave all to himself
Wave train – similarly sized, shaped waves
Wedge - a steep wave caused by side wash from a rock face or breakwater
Windswell – waves generated by local winds
Wipeout – falling of a wave unexpectedly
