Lane

A Lane is one of three paths connecting the two Ancients. Lane creeps will push along these lanes after spawning.

There are three lanes:
 * Top lane, which runs along the left and top edges of the map
 * Middle or mid lane, where the lane creeps clash in the river
 * Bottom or bot, which runs along the bottom and right edges of the map

The lanes are also known by other names according to their function during the early game:
 * The long lane is the lane where the Tier 1 Tower is farthest from the Ancient, and closest to the creep line. For Radiant, this is the bottom lane. For Dire, this is the top lane. The long lane is also called the safe lane, since it is easiest for a laning hero to retreat to the protection of their tower, and because it is difficult for enemies to sneak through the jungle and gank the laning hero. Also, because this lane is close the the jungle, it is the easiest lane to use creep pulling to control the location of the creep line.
 * The short lane is the lane where the Tier 1 Tower is closest to the Ancient, and farthest from the creep line. For Radiant, this is the top lane. For Dire, this is the bottom lane. The short lane is also called the suicide lane, because it is dangerous for all the reasons that the long lane is not.

Confusingly, many people use opposite definitions of long lane and short lane, e.g. referring to the Radiant top lane as a "long lane".

Playing in the Suicide lane
Certain heroes (such as Windrunner) are more suited to the suicide lane role, because they are tanky, because they can push, or because they have other useful abilities.