Pickleball glossary: 60+ terms every 3.0 to 3.5 player hears
12 min read
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If you have ever stood at a public court and heard someone yell "bert!" or "shake and bake!" and wondered what planet you landed on, this glossary is for you. I built it for 3.0 to 3.5 players who want to nod along confidently the next time the rec game gets chatty. One sentence per term, alphabetized, no fluff.
A
ATP (Around the Post)
A shot hit so wide that it travels around the outside of the net post instead of over the net, and it is fully legal. See our ATP shot guide for how to set one up.
Ace
A serve the receiver fails to return, scoring a point outright.
Approach shot
The shot you hit on your way up to the kitchen line, usually a drop or a drive.
B
Backhand flick
A short, wristy backhand attack used to speed up a ball that sits a little high.
Banger
A player whose default plan is to hit every ball hard, usually skipping the soft game entirely.
Bert
An Erne hit on your partner's side of the court, meaning you cross in front of them to poach the ball out of the air near the sideline.
Body bag
When a hard-driven ball hits the opposing player square in the chest or stomach.
C
Carbon face
A paddle hitting surface made from carbon fiber, prized for grit and consistent spin.
Centerline
The line that splits the two service boxes down the middle.
Chicken wing
The awkward elbow-up block you make when a fast ball is driven at your shoulder.
Crosscourt
Any shot hit diagonally across the court, the safest direction because the net is lower in the middle and the court is longer.
D
Dillball
A ball that is in play and has bounced once, used as a casual call to confirm the ball is live.
Dink
A soft shot hit from the kitchen line that arcs over the net and lands in the opponent's kitchen. Our dinking strategy guide has the patterns.
Drive
A flat, hard groundstroke, usually hit off the bounce as a third or fifth shot.
Drop
A soft, arcing shot from the baseline or mid-court that lands in the opponent's kitchen so you can advance. Full breakdown in our third-shot drop guide.
Drop-in
An open-play session at a court or club where players show up and rotate in without a fixed lineup.
DUPR
Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating, a 2.0 to 8.0 number that updates after every recorded match. See how DUPR works for the math.
E
Erne
A volley hit at the net while standing outside the sideline, jumping over or around the kitchen instead of through it. Our Erne guide walks through the footwork.
F
Falafel
A shot hit so softly off the paddle that it dies in the net, usually because of a dead arm or scared swing.
Fault
Any rule violation that ends the rally, like a serve into the net or a kitchen volley.
Flick
A quick wrist-driven attack used to speed up a dink that floats too high.
G
Gel core
A newer paddle core material that aims for a softer feel than polymer while keeping pop.
Golden pickle
Winning 11-0 while serving every point, meaning the receiving team never scored or held serve.
H
Hands battle
A fast volley exchange at the kitchen line where both teams are trading speed-ups.
Half volley
A shot hit immediately after the bounce, picked up off the short hop.
K
Kitchen
The 7-foot zone on either side of the net where you cannot volley, officially the non-volley zone or NVZ.
Kitchen line
The line 7 feet from the net that marks the front of the kitchen, where most rallies are decided.
L
Let
A serve that clips the net and lands in is now played, so this term mostly comes up as a habit from tennis.
Lob
A high arcing shot meant to push opponents off the kitchen line and behind the baseline.
N
Nasty Nelson
A serve aimed directly at the non-receiving opponent, which is legal and ends the rally if it hits them.
NRTP
National Rating Tournament Player, the older self-rating scale that ran from 1.0 to 5.5 before DUPR took over for most players. See pickleball skill levels explained.
NVZ
Non-Volley Zone, the formal name for the kitchen.
O
Open play
A drop-in style session where anyone at the right level can rotate in.
Overhead (Smash)
A high contact putaway hit downward, usually on a weak lob.
P
Paddle tap
The post-rally tap of paddle handles between partners, the pickleball version of a high five.
Party ball
A ball that floats slowly across the net at chest height, basically begging to be put away.
Pickle
A call shouted by the server before serving to alert the receiver that the ball is coming, usually when courts are crowded.
Pickled
Losing a game without scoring a single point, like getting beaten 11-0.
Poach
Stepping in front of your partner to take a ball that would have gone to them.
Polymer core
The plastic honeycomb most paddle cores are made from, balancing pop and control.
Pop-up
A dink or reset that floats too high, giving the opponent an easy attack.
R
Rally scoring
A scoring system where every rally produces a point regardless of who served, used in some leagues and pro events.
Raw carbon
A paddle face made from unpainted carbon fiber, valued for spin and longer surface life.
Ready position
Paddle up around chest height, knees soft, weight forward, ready to react to a speed-up.
Reset
A soft shot used to slow down the rally and buy yourself time to get back to the kitchen line.
Round robin
A tournament format where every team plays every other team in their bracket.
S
Sandbagging
Playing in a lower-rated bracket than your true skill to win medals, frowned upon in every rec community.
Scorpion
A defensive counter where you lift the paddle near your face with the tip up to block a shot at your head.
Shake and bake
A doubles play where one partner drives the third shot and the other crashes the kitchen for the putaway.
Side out
Loss of serve, meaning the other team now serves.
Skinny singles
A singles practice format played on half the court using only the diagonal service boxes.
Speed-up
An attack hit out of a dinking rally, usually off a slightly high ball.
Stack
A doubles formation where partners swap sides to keep their stronger shots in the middle. See what is stacking in pickleball.
T
Thermoformed
A paddle construction method where the entire paddle is heated and pressed into one piece, giving more pop and stiffer feel.
Third-shot drop
The soft, arcing third shot from the baseline that lands in the kitchen so the serving team can move up.
Two-bounce rule
The rule that the serve must bounce, and the return must bounce, before either team can volley. See our 2026 rules guide.
U
USAP rating
USA Pickleball's tournament rating, calculated from sanctioned event results on a 2.5 to 6.0 scale.
UTR-P
Universal Tennis Rating for Pickleball, a newer rating system using a 1 to 16 scale.
Unattackable
A dink low enough that the opponent cannot reasonably speed it up.
V
Volley
Any shot hit out of the air before it bounces, only legal outside the kitchen.
Volley llama
Slang for a kitchen violation, meaning a player volleyed while their foot was inside the non-volley zone.
W
Wiffle
Casual nickname for the ball, since it is a hollow plastic ball with holes.
Equipment terms worth knowing
14mm vs 16mm
Paddle thickness in millimeters, where 14mm gives more pop and 16mm gives more control and forgiveness.
Edge guard
The plastic strip around a paddle's perimeter that protects it from court scrapes.
Grit
The texture on a paddle face that grabs the ball and produces spin.
Indoor ball
A lighter ball with larger holes, used on gym floors, that feels softer off the paddle.
Outdoor ball
A harder ball with smaller holes built to handle wind and rough surfaces.
If a term ever stumps you mid-rally, just ask. Pickleball culture rewards the player who is curious, not the one who pretends to know.
Frequently asked
What does "pickle" mean when called out before a serve?
It is a courtesy call from the server to alert the receiver that the next ball is live, especially when courts are packed and people might be looking the other way. It is not a rule, just a heads-up.
What is a banger in pickleball?
A banger is a player who hits almost every ball hard and skips the soft game. The fix at 3.5 and up is to reset their drives into the kitchen and force them into a dinking rally they would rather avoid.
Why is the kitchen called the kitchen?
Most people credit the term to shuffleboard, where the "kitchen" is a penalty area you want to avoid. Pickleball borrowed the slang, and now the official non-volley zone is just known as the kitchen.
What is the difference between a drop and a drive?
A drop is a soft arcing shot meant to land in the opponent's kitchen so you can move up to the line. A drive is a hard, flat shot that aims to pressure or jam the opponents at their feet.
What does it mean to get pickled?
Getting pickled means losing a game without scoring a point, usually 11-0. A golden pickle is the more painful version, where the winning team served every single point.
