Skateboarding Terms & Skater Slang

If you wanna know what the dudes at the skatepark are saying, here's a quick gnarly lesson in skater slang.

Acid Drop - skating off a surface edge both ollie and hands-free

Air / Aerial - an airborne trick

Airwalk - an aerial trick requiring a nose grab, kick and landing

Axel Nuts and Washers - fasteners used to position and separate the wheels from the hangers

Axles - two long metal pins that run through the truck hangers and connect the wheels to the skateboard

Backside - a trick executed with the skater's back toward the ramp or surface

Bailing - safely abandoning the skateboard when a trick goes sour

Baseplates - two rectangular metal pieces used to bolt the trucks to the skateboard deck

Bearings - two metal balls that allow each skateboard wheel to rotate on its axle

Boardslide - a basic trick that requires skimming the skateboard deck along a rail or ledge

Bowl - an in-ground skate facility inspired by emptied swimming pools from the 1970s

Brain Bucket - an endearing term for skate helmet

Bushings - flexible upper and lower polyurethane rings that cushion metal elements in skateboard trucks and allow boards to turn and pivot

Coping - the piped or fitted edge of a half pipe or skateboard ramp

Curb - the edge of street pavement

Deck - the flat standing surface of a skateboard

Delam - slang for the delamination or separation of the structural layers of a skate deck

Drop-in - a method for transitioning from the flat top edge of a halfpipe or bowl to its steep angled face

Face Plant - landing face first on the ground after a failed trick

540 - a trick that requires a one-and-a-half (front or backside) board and rider rotation

Frontside - a trick executed with the skater's face toward the ramp or surface

Gnarly - something extremely cool, challenging or dangerous

Goofy-foot - a skater who rides with their right foot forward

Grip Tape - sandpaper-like material glued to top of a skateboard deck to produce friction

Halfpipe - a U-shaped skateboarding ramp with a leveled floor and top edges for standing, exiting and entering

Hangers - Two triangular or T-shaped metal frames within the trucks that contain and support the axles

Heelflip - a trick that requires popping up the nose of the skateboard with the back foot, lifting and vertically rotating it 360 degrees using the heel side of the front foot, and then landing with both feet

Kickflip - a trick that requires popping the nose of the board up using the back foot, lifting and vertically rotating it 360 degrees with the toe side of the front foot, and then landing with both feet

Kickturn - a basic maneuver that requires shifting bodyweight toward the back of the skateboard to raise the nose and then twisting it to the left or right to change direction

Kingpins - large bolts on skateboard trucks that connect and hold the hangers, bushings and baseplates together

900 - a trick that requires a two-and-a-half (front or backside) board and rider rotations

Nose - the front end of the skateboard

Nose Grab - gripping the front end of the skateboard while airborne

180 - a trick that requires a one-half (front or backside) board and rider rotation

Poser - a person who acts, talks or dresses to impress others

Risers - two cushioned pads that separate the deck and baseplates

Sesh - short for skateboarding session

Session - a time when skaters practice, do tricks and chill

Shred - tricks performed with aggressive style and skillful execution

720 - a trick that requires two full (front or backside) board and rider rotations

Skate or Die - a classic 1980s video game

Skater Girl / Chick - a female who skateboards

Slam - a skateboard fall, bail or failed trick

Street Skating - a skateboarding style that requires tricks performed using urban landscapes and structures like hills, curbs or rails

Sup - friendly abbreviated greeting for "what's up"

Tail - the ass end of a skateboard

1080 - a trick that requires three full (front or backside) board and rider rotations

Thrasher - old school slang for a skilled and passionate skater

360 - a trick that requires a full (front or backside) board and rider rotation

Tic-tac - a series of heelside-to-toeside kickturns used to increase momentum

Trucks - two collections of bolts, plates, hangers and bushings that fasten the wheels and axles to the skateboard deck

Vert Skating - a skateboarding style that requires tricks performed on a vertical axis using a ramp or half pipe

Wheels - four rotating polyurethane road surfaces that vary in hardness and diameter