An abbreviation for “away from keyboard,” this refers to any player occupied by something other than the game. Necessarily, players who are AFK are completely defenseless, and so those who have been AFK for any length of time are usually to be found standing in spawn. Being AFK for too long is a reason to be votekicked.

"Backcapping" occurs during Control Points matches when a player (usually a Scout or Spy, but not always) is waiting near the final control point, so that they may begin capturing it as soon as the preceding point is captured; this has the potential to result in extremely fast matches.

A sub-class of Medic that focuses on dealing damage, which is not usually Medic's strong point. Battle Medics usually leverage Medic's movement speed (second only to Scout), and thus this playstyle is rather similar to Scout's. However, since there are very limited loadout options for damage-oriented Medics, this strategy has an extremely steep learning curve.

Short for "keybind;" a key programmed (bound) for a certain function. One of the most common uses for this is to bind a specific chat message to an unused key; allowing one to send out a predetermined chat message with a single keypress. This may be used, for example, to warn of a Sniper ahead, or to remind the team that the Medic has just been killed. Binds may also be abused to flood the chat with nuisance messages.

A killbind is a bind set to suicide the player. Killbind may also be used as a verb; "to killbind" is to press the button set for suicide.

The console must be enabled (in Options) to set up binds. Open the console by pressing ~, by default.
To set up a killbind, open the console and enter:
To set up a chat bind, open the console and enter:
Or, for team chat:
Common keys to use are 7, 8, 9, and 0; don't forget the quotes.

As a Medic, to buff your teammates is to provide a quick overheal before said teammate runs into the fight.

As a Soldier, there are three banners available as secondaries: the Buff Banner, the Battalion's Backup, and the Concheror. Each requires you to fill a "rage" meter before it can be used; using it provides a positive effect to the Soldier and all allies within range. The Buff Banner provides mini-crits, the Battalion's Backup provides protection against incoming damage (more protection against incoming criticals), and the Concheror provides a speed buff.

Camping is a strategy in which an individual selects one secluded point to defend. The playstyle of Sniper (and, to a lesser extent, Engineer) usually involves camping at least to a certain degree; countering campers (of any type) is a primary role of Spy. Camping is generally considered a poor strategy when the camper does not move from their spot; see also "turtling" for Engineers.

Short for “capture.” Often conjugated (a person --- the “capper” --- is said to be “capping” a point/the intelligence). This is occasionally frowned upon by players who wish to extend the match by not making progress.

Casual is simply Team Fortress 2 played on Valve-hosted servers, all of which are VAC secured and have default settings. There is no payment required to play Casual, and it is by far the most popular way to play TF2.

This refers to a situation that a particular player should not have been able to survive; not only did they survive, they wiped out everyone else in the process. This may also refer to Medics healing/deploying an Ubercharge at precisely the right time. A clutch scenario may be pulled off due to skill, or just dumb luck.

Occasionally, this also refers to a weapon that is overpowered given some skill; see also "Crutch."

Short for "competitive," this is TF2 where personal score matters; players are ranked on a global leaderboard based on cumulative score, and there is a penalty for leaving a match early. To access Competitive, you need to either have: a Premium account (see below) with a phone number linked and at least a Level 3 Casual badge, or a Competitive Access Ticket, which can be bought in-game.

Aside from the Competitive servers hosted by Valve, there are also an array of third-party Competitive servers with potentially different entry requirements. Players using the term "comp" in conversation may be referring to either one.

An abbreviation for "close quarters combat;" this does not necessarily refer to melee fighting. Often used to refer to weapons (a shotgun is a good CQC weapon because it has limited capabilities at long range, for example).

Generically, when someone dies to fall damage, they are said to have "cratered." This term is occasionally made even more specific, referring to a Soldier who dies to fall damage after rocket jumping.

A crutch weapon is a weapon that requires almost no skill to use effectively, thereby providing a “crutch” for inexperienced players to lean on. Note that someone is not automatically inexperienced simply because they are using a crutch.

Occasionally, a crutch may be composed of a combination of weapons; neither weapon is too much of a crutch in and of itself, but when used in synergy, they become a crutch.

A variation or "sub-class" of Demoman that forgoes all explosive weapons for a powerful melee, a shield, and (usually) a pair of boots. The sword has a much larger reach than normal melee weapons, as well as a damage bonus; the shield allows the Demoknight to charge rapidly into battle after filling the "Charge" meter. The shield's charge is also capable of dealing damage.

This variation has become fairly popular, and a variety of loadouts are available specifically for it. It does, however, have a fairly steep learning curve.

Demopan is a further variation of Demoknight, in which the melee of choice is a frying pan. This is primarily due to the sound the pan makes when it connects with an enemy; the sound is amusing at first, but quickly becomes annoying.

Hybridknight is a further variation of Demoknight, in which at least one explosive weapon is retained: usually the grenade launcher, which would be replaced by boots in a "typical" Demoknight loadout.

Demospam is the constant barrage of grenades/sticky bombs that a Demoman is capable of producing. It is important to note that demospam is not random; it is a hedge against the unpredictability of grenade bounce/roll. Firing a bunch of grenades at where the enemy should be makes it more likely that at least one will connect.

Short for “free to play,” these are the players who have not spent any money in-game; however, this term is often used as a derisive catch-all for inexperienced players. Always use "noob/newb" to refer to actually inexperienced players, as there are still plenty of good players who haven't purchased anything.

A "fat Scout" refers to a Heavy using only his shotgun, and attempting a playstyle like Scout's (flanking, attempting to capture, attempting to pick off specific enemies, &c). This is largely done for amusement, because Heavy's lowest-in-the-game movement speed makes a Scout-like playstyle generally inviable. Fat Scouts are sometimes to be found following regular Scouts.

Essentially, a "friendly" is a player who is completely non-hostile. Heavy is the most common class for this role (sometimes referred to as "hoovy" while friendly), with Spy running a close second. These players are typically constantly crouching with their melee out; if a friendly Heavy has a Sandvich, he may throw it on the ground for anyone - including the enemy - to use as a medkit.
Friendlies are very hotly debated in the community; there is about a 50-50 chance that being a friendly will result in a votekick.

To gib an enemy is to kill them with explosive damage, such that they are blasted into pieces. Demo and Soldier are the typical classes to cause this, a level 3 sentry's rockets can also gib players. This is not to be confused with "Gibus," which is a hat.

A portmanteau of "Ghastly Gibus" (a hat) and "Pyrovision" (a pair of goggles); this term refers to the person who is wearing both. Both of these items are free and relatively easy to acquire (they're achievement items), and so they are easily accessible to free-to-play players. This association makes it such that anyone wearing both items is usually assumed to be inexperienced; this is, of course, not always true.

A player's loadout is the sum total of their weapons and cosmetic items. These may be items selected to fit a certain theme, or just whatever happened to be convenient at the time.

This refers to the class a player is most skilled with/enjoys playing as the most: their main class. It is used as a play on the word "man;" someone might describe themselves as a "Medic main," for example.

To "mic spam" a match is to constantly blast noise (generally music, although not always) over the voice chat system, interrupting anyone else who wants to talk. If a "mic spammer" is encountered in a match, it is possible to mute them from the Pause menu, or turn off voice chat entirely in Options.

Short for “pay to play,” this refers to players who have spent money on something in-game. Exactly what was purchased, and how much was spent, varies widely, and ultimately has no bearing on how good the individual is at the game. Nevertheless, this is often used to refer to players who are supposedly better than F2P players.

Anyone who has purchased something (anything) in-game qualifies as a Premium account, which grants more backpack slots, more crafting/trading options, and is partially necessary to access Competitive. An account is also upgraded to Premium if the Orange Box (a game bundle including Half-Life and Portal) has been purchased.

Both terms refer to the grenades launched from Demoman's primary. "Pipe" comes from "pipe bomb" (the grenades are sometimes described as being pipe bombs), and "pill" refers to the projectile's shape.

To “pit” an enemy is to push them into a bottomless pit or out of the world, killing them instantly. In MvM, "pitting” a bomb-carrying robot sends the bomb back to the start, making the tactic somewhat more rewarding. Not all maps have pits; Nucleus is an example of a PvP map that has a pit.

A tactic used by Medics, wherein they heal a single person (the “pocket”) for an extended period. This is a necessary strategy for Medic, but all too often a Medic will ignore other teammates in need of healing to continue pocketing one person.

Short for “public server,” a “pub” is any server hosted by a community member. These servers may have settings other than default (regarding number of players that can join, for example), and may be password-protected. Despite not being hosted by Valve, these servers are usually VAC secured.

In conversation, "pub" may refer to any server that is publically available; this term may also be a synonym for Casual.

A Pybro’s main purpose is to assist the team’s Engineer; this Pyro is to be found near the nest, airblasting projectiles and spychecking the area constantly. Pybros often are additionally equipped with the Homewrecker or Neon Annihilator so that they can remove sappers while their Engineer is away/dead.

A Soldier can execute a rocket jump by jumping normally and firing his rocket launcher at the ground directly beneath him while mid-air. The knockback from the blast will launch the Soldier much farther than normal, and can be used to cover long distances quickly; the Soldier will take damage from the explosion, as well as potentially considerable fall damage upon landing. There are a variety of items that can be equipped to help mitigate the damage from rocket jumping; some are more useful than others.

See also "Sticky-jump," a comparable tactic for Demomen.

As a noun: a sentry nest is simply the region in which an Engineer has set up his sentry and is now defending. His dispenser is often close by.

As a verb: to “sentry nest” is to work with other Engineers to set up multiple sentries in one area, in the hope that the area will then be impregnable. This is generally a poor tactic, since grouping buildings up makes them vulnerable to a competent Demoman’s or Soldier’s splash damage.

This is often shortened to simply "nest" for both usages.

A Spamoman is a Demoman who does nothing but randomly spam explosives; this may apply to grenades or sticky bombs. This is not to be confused with Demospam, above, which applies to targeted spammed explosives.

A variation of camping, in which the location selected is immediately outside the enemy’s spawn point. While this can result in a large number of kills, it is viewed as a highly immature tactic, and the enemy team (and quite possibly your own team as well) will probably resent you. This is a good way to get votekicked.

Spinbot is a particular style of cheat that works by faking out which direction the player is facing: the model is aimed one direction, but the invisible hitbox is aimed another. This is primarily used to avoid headshots, because it will place the model's head and the hitbox's head in different locations. This is also referred to as "anti-aim."

To check an area for the presence of cloaked Spies, or to check a teammate to ensure they are not an enemy Spy in disguise, by attempting to deal damage to the area/teammate. Pyro possesses the simplest method of doing this; their flamethrower will ignite enemy Spies (disguised, cloaked, or otherwise) and leave friendly players unharmed. Scouts and Snipers possess powerful Spy-revealing tools with Mad Milk and Jarate, respectively. This is also what Engineers are doing when they’re firing their shotgun/swinging their wrench into seemingly empty space.

A particular "pose" for Spy; performed by crouching and looking straight up with the disguise kit equipped (but no disguise selected). The resulting pose, from the point of view of others, is reminiscent of a crab. This is usually "friendly" behavior (see above).

A Demoman can execute a sticky jump by placing a cluster of sticky bombs on the ground, jumping directly over them, and detonating them. The knockback from the explosion will launch the Demo much farther than usual, and can be used to cover long distances quickly; the Demo will take damage from the explosion, as well as potentially considerable fall damage upon landing. More bombs allow for longer jumps, and cause proportionally more damage. There are not many options to mitigate damage caused by sticky jumping.

See also "Rocket-jump," a comparable tactic for Soldiers.

When a player travels through a teleporter, anyone from the opposing team standing on the teleporter exit is killed instantly, and is said to have been “telefragged.”

Note, however, that only Spies may use the enemy's teleporter; thus, a player standing on a friendly Teleporter can only be telefragged by an enemy Spy. A player standing on an enemy Teleporter can be telefragged by any class.

This occurs when a Demoman with a shield charges at an inclined plane, which launches him high into the air. The utility of this is highly situational.

As a neutral term: "tryhard" means what it says: someone is trying their hardest to win.

As an insult: someone who believes their way of playing is the only correct way is occasionally also described as a "tryhard." These people will order around anyone who is not playing the "correct" way (i.e., the tryhard's way), and may attempt a votekick if people don't comply. Note that what is being insulted with this usage is the person's vitriolic behavior, not their desire to win.

Editor's note: I usually see this term used in the latter, derogatory sense. I may be mistaking the user's intention, or I may just be cynical; nevertheless, this term should be used with a bit of caution.

Referring to an Engineer: a turtling Engineer is one who has set up all of his buildings in close proximity to each other, and not necessarily where they will help the team.

Referring to an Entire Team: a defending team on Capture the Flag may turtle by never leaving their base; they attack enemies only as they trickle in. It is entirely possible for a turtle-team to never give up the intelligence and still lose the match, due to a lack of points.

Short for "Ubercharge," this is Medic's signature, and usually game-changing, ability. After building up charge by healing teammates (teammates with lower health allow the Medic to charge faster), the Medic can deploy or "pop" his Ubercharge, which affects himself and his pocket. Each of the four Mediguns does something different: the stock Medigun grants brief invulnerability, while the Kritzkrieg grants guaranteed critical hits, for example. A well-timed, coordinated Ubercharge (an Uber push) can easily change the direction of a match.

All of the progress toward an Ubercharge is lost if the Medic dies; if a Medic dies with (and thus loses) a ready-to-deploy Ubercharge, he is said to have dropped the Uber.

Short for "Valve Anti-Cheat," this is a system that is intended to do exactly what its name implies; its efficacy is debatable. Someone who has been caught cheating by VAC will be permanently banned from joining any VAC-secured server, which is basically all of them.

At any point during a match, any player may call a vote to kick another player out of the match. Common reasons are players who are cheating or idle, or who are being a general nuisance/immature/disrespectful, although no reason need be given. A message box will appear on the left-hand side of every player's screen (including the vote's target); if enough players respond "Yes," the vote's target is forcibly removed from the match, and prevented from re-entering.

If a player is votekicked too many times, they will eventually be banned altogether. However, I could not find how many times someone needs to be votekicked before they are banned; I also could not ascertain whether the ban is permanent.

The option to call a vote is present on the Pause menu (press ESC, at the bottom); one can also call a vote to change the map, change the game mode, restart the map, &c.

Occasionally also shortened even further to just “W1.” This refers to the act of walking straight forward - and only forward - and firing one’s weapon; by default this uses the W key and Mouse 1 (M1), hence the name. The vast majority of the time, this is used to refer to Pyros: however, exactly when it applies is debatable. Some will use it to refer to a Pyro attempting to chase down an enemy (in a straight line), some use it to refer only to Pyros equipped with the Phlogistinator, and some use it to refer to any Pyro at all.

The related, but rarer, term W+M2 is used to refer to Pyros who overuse the airblast capability that most flamethrowers have.

W+M1 is also sometimes used to refer to Heavy, and very rarely Demoman.

02 Apr 2020 (Rev. 10): Added Buff entry.

23 Mar 2020 (Rev. 9): Added Hybridknight sub-entry to Demoknight. Updated Telefrag entry.

18 Mar 2020 (Rev. 8): Added Gib and Main entries. Rewrote Camping entry, updated Votekick and W+M1 entry.

14 Mar 2020 (Rev. 7): Rewrote Tryhard entry.

13 Mar 2020 (Rev. 6): Added Backcap and Uber entries.

11 Mar 2020 (Rev. 5): Added Bind and Spamoman entries. Rewrote Clutch and W+M1 entries almost entirely.

10 Mar 2020 (Rev. 4): Added Crater entry. Updated Comp, Crutch, Pub, and Telefrag entries. Continuing thanks to the conversation in the comments; including the commenter from way back who first mentioned Crater.

08 Mar 2020 (Rev. 3): Added Comp, Fat Scout, Spycrab, and Turtling entries. Updated Friendly, Tryhard, and P2P entries. Thanks to the many commenters for bringing these to my attention.

07 Mar 2020 (Rev. 2): Added Battle Medic, Demospam, Gibusvision, and Pipe/Pill entries. Updated Sticky-jump entry; added Demopan sub-entry to Demoknight. Thanks to the two commenters for bringing Demopan to my attention, and subconsciously reminding me of Demospam.

06 Mar 2020 (Rev. 1): Added Demoknight, Friendly, Loadout, Mic Spam, Rocket-jump, Spinbot, Sticky-jump, VAC, and Votekick entries. Thanks to the commenters who reminded me of Friendly, Mic Spam, Rocket and Sticky Jump.

29 Feb 2020: Original revision.