Glossary

A - E

 * Aggro : Short for aggression. The programmed aggression of AI controlled towers and creeps. Refers to getting the attention of a particular hostile unit, e.g. "I have aggro" means a hostile unit is focusing on attacking you.
 * AoE : Acronym for area of effect. It refers to a spell or attack that affects a large area instead of just a single unit. Also used to refer to the range of an area of effect attack, e.g. "500 AoE" refers to the area 500 units, in radius, around the target point.


 * B : Short for Back. Used to call for a retreat. A player saying "b" is usually suggesting that everyone pull back.
 * BKB : Acronym for Black King Bar.
 * Bot or Bottom : Refers to the bottom lane of the map. For the Radiant, this is the lane to the South. For the Dire, this is the lane to the East.
 * Buff : A beneficial spell or effect placed on a unit.
 * Buffer : A hero that can use or place buffs as their primary function.
 * Burst or Burst Damage : Refers to high amount of damage dealt over a short period of time.


 * Carry : A type of hero which can overpower the enemy team in the late game. These Heroes usually require large amounts of gold and experience in order to be successful.
 * Caster : A hero whose primary function is their skills.
 * Cooldown : A period of wait time before a spell, ability, or item power can be used again.
 * CW : Short for Clan War. Usually refers to a match between highly-skilled teams.


 * Debuff : A detrimental spell of effect placed on a unit. Refers to the opposite of a Buff.
 * Deny : Killing your ally or allied units, in order to prevent an enemy from gaining the gold and experience it gives. You can manually attack your own creeps if their health is below 50%, your own towers below if they are below 10%, and heroes affected by DoT if they are below 25%.
 * Disable : A spell or ability that prevents enemy hero from moving, casting and attacking, leaving them helpless for a short period of time.
 * DoT : Damage over Time, generally abbreviated as DoT, or simply dot, refers to inflicting some damage which will be applied at a regular interval for a limited duration.
 * DPS : Acronym for Damage per second. A measure of the damage dealt by a hero or unit over one second.

F - J

 * Farm or Farming : The process of slowly earning gold and experience by killing hostile creeps. This tactic is usually slow and tedious, but often required for Carries to reach their maximum potential.
 * Feeder : A player who "feeds" the enemy team gold and experience by getting killed frequently.


 * Gank : Short for Gang Kill. A strategy where a group of Heroes will team up to harass one player.


 * Hard Carry : A very strong and powerful Carry, especially in a game with many Carries.


 * Imba : Short for Imbalanced. Indicates something that is so powerful that it breaks the game's balance, e.g. "Lina is imba" means that Lina can't be reasonably defeated or stopped, thus being imbalanced compared to everything else.


 * Jungling : The process of killing creeps in the woods between lanes.

K - O

 * Kite or Kiting: See pulling. A technique where a hero gets the attention of a hostile unit to draw them away or force them to follow.


 * Mid : The middle of the three lanes in the map.
 * Miss or MIA : Mentions that a particular Hero has gone missing and is probably setting up for a Gank, e.g. "Earthshaker mia" or "Earthshaker miss" means that Earthshaker isn't visible to the team.


 * Nuke : A spell whose purpose is to deal a large amount of damage immediately.

P - T

 * Pet : A creature that a Hero can summon or convert to their side. For example, the Quillbeast is an example of Beastmaster's pet.
 * Pull or Pulling: A technique where a hero gets the attention of a hostile unit to draw them away or force them to follow.


 * Rax : Short for Barracks.
 * Roamer : A hero who jumps between lanes, especially in the early game, in order to Gank enemy Heroes or defend allies.


 * Silence : An ability that prevents the target from using Skills and certain Abilities.
 * Solo : The act of controlling, pushing, or farming a lane by one Hero. A player may call for "solo" to prevent other players from interrupting or farming in their lane.
 * SS : See miss. Mentions that a particular Hero has gone missing and is probably setting up for a Gank, e.g. "Earthshaker ss" means that Earthshaker isn't visible to the team.
 * Stacking : A technique which allows several groups of neutral creeps to spawn at once.
 * Summoner : A Hero whose primary function is summoning or controlling Pets.
 * Support : A Hero whose primary function is to help their own team through heals, buffs, and detection, or sabotaging the enemy team through disables, slows, or debuffs.


 * Tank : A Hero that can take a lot of damage and abuse before dying.
 * Top : Refers to the top lane of the map. For the Radiant, this is the lane to the West. For the Dire, this is the lane to the North.
 * TP : Acronym for Scroll of Town Portal.

U - Z

 * Wipe : The act of an entire team dying at once.
 * WW : Acronym for Wind Walk, or sometimes generalized for enemies who gained invisibility (through runes, items, or buffs).