Surfing Terms & Slang

All the Surfer Dialogue You Need To Get Around

Some of the most popular surfing terms and slang:

Air
Describes the trick of actually getting air under your surfboard when coming off a wave. Eg The board launches from the lip of the wave and after a short ‘flight’ lands back on the face of the wave.

A-frame wave
This is a mountain peak-shaped wave which usually has nice left and right shoulders with the highest point of the wave crest being in the middle of the peak.

Ankle Slop
These are small waves most surfers couldn’t be bothered riding.

Axed or Pole-axed
This is a serious heavy ass wipeout which normally involves the lip of the wave landing right on top of the surfer.

Backhander
This is when you surf facing away from the wave

Bail
When you ditch your surfboard just before getting wiped out by a wave when you are paddling out to the break or whilst you are actually riding the wave.

Barrel
The barrel is the hollow section inside a breaking wave also known as the tube, breaking wave. Depending on the size of the wave a surfer might actually be completely inside this barrel. Every surfer knows plenty of surfing terms & slang but the barrel is what we're all wanting.

Beach Break
Waves which break on to a beach.

Blown Out
When onshore winds reduce the ride-able waves to a messy chop.

Body Surfing
Surfing without a board ie just using your body although some bodysurfers will use flippers (fins) and sometimes a hand glove for extra lift off the wave.

Bombora
This is an Aussie term for big wave  breaks which are usually found out past submerged reefs and rocks and separated by deeper water. Bomboras are also known as bombies

Boogie board
A boogie (also known as an Esky lid) is a small, short, soft foam board used for body-boarding.

Bottom turn
This is a quick turn undertaken at the foot of the wave.

Choppy
Choppy surf conditions are ones in which the waves are often inconsistent or blown out

Clean
Smooth waves and a most desirable condition for surfing.

Close Out
Where the wave doesn’t break consistently along its length.

Clubbie
This is Aussie slang used to describe a Surf Lifesaving Club member.

Cutback
A classic surfing maneuver used by the surfer to change their direction when shooting ahead of the lip curl of a wave with a sharp, powerful turn back onto the breaking part of the wave.

Dawn Patrol
Going surfing early in the morning when the swells are usually at their best ie at dawn. Surfing at dawn us not usually crowded and the conditions are often clean before the winds picks up

Deck
The topside surface of a surfboard.

Delammed
Means delaminated. Ie When your surfboard deck (the fiberglass) deteriorates and then separates from the foam core. Usually means get a new board or re-glass that one

Ding
A hole or puncture in your board

Double Overhead
This is a wave which is twice as tall as the rider.

Dragon’s Breath
This is the gush of spray that shoots out of a barrel. Usually found on bigger heavier waves.

Drop in
Taking off onto a wave which is already being surfed by another rider. It is considered bad form.

Duck dive
Surfers push their boards under the wave face to get under it and out to the line up,

Dude
Another fellow waterman surfer.

Endless Summer
The famous documentary filmed in1966 which tells the story of some surfers who travel around the world searching for the perfect wave. Bruce Brown wrote, directed and narrated the film and its sequel - Endless Summer 2 in 1994.

Eskimo Roll
This is when a surfer rolls his/her board over so that the seawater rushes over the underside and is a way of getting through a large wave or set without being carried back to the shore.

Face
The face is the unbroken part of the wave where most of the actual surfing occurs.

Fin Chop
An injury which is caused by the fins of a surf board ie usually some other surfer riding over you by accident or malicious intent.

Floater
A slick trick which involves floating over the top broken part of a wave and re-entering into the face of the wave.

Getting Worked!
US Slang for getting being hammered by a large wave or set or also referred to when you wipe out in a impressive way.

Gidget
Gidgets are young female surfers often named after the surf movie of the same name filmed in the 1960s .

Glassy
Favorable and usually windless surf conditions where the top of the ocean water is really smooth like glass.

Glass House
The inside of a wave or tube.

Gnarly
Slang for very heavy waves or surfing situations.

Goofy-Footed
A goofy is a surfer who puts their right leg forward while surfing.

Going Off
A  slang term used to describe excellent, often large surf.

The Green Room
This is known as the inside of a tube. Also called the Green Cathedral

Grommet
Slang for a young surfer. Also called a grom

Gun
The gun is a long fast surfboard used for riding big waves and comes from the term elephant gun. Ie elephant gun was used for killing big animals. A surfing ‘gun’ is used for riding big waves.

Hang Five
A long-boarding trick in which the toes of one foot are curled around the nose of the surfboard.

Hang Ten
A Hang Ten is a long-boarding maneuver where the surfer puts all 10 toes of both feet over the front of the board. A tricky move.

Hold Down
This is when a surfer is held under the water by a large wave or set.

Impact Zone
The wave impact zone is where the actual waves are breaking.

Kook
Aussie Slang for a newbie surfer

Kneelo
Aussie Slang for a kneeboard rider

Layback
A maneuver where the surfer leans back off his/her board, usually during a cutback.

Leash or Leg Rope
This is a rubber cord attached to the ankle opf the surfer and tethered to the surfboard and is used to stop the board being carried away by the swell.

Macking
US Slang for waves which are massive in size. Huge dude…like a Mack truck!

Malibu Surfboard
The ‘Mal’is a 60's style longboard usually crafted with heavy glass, a long shape, 50-50 rails and deep single fin or sometimes 3.

Natural footed
A natural footer puts their left leg forward while surfing. Also called Regular footed.

Noah
This is Aussie Slang for a shark  because it rhymes with Noah's ark = shark.

Nose
The front part of the surf board.

Nose Ride
This is a longboard maneuver where the surfer gets to the front of the surfboard and rides right on it’s nose. Most often done on longboards 8 feet or longer.

Over the Falls
A really bad wipeout where the surfer is sucked over the top of the wave as it breaks and crashes down with the lip which is the heaviest part of the wave. Not something you want to do often

Peak
The peak of the wave is where it forms and the rider can go left or right after take off.

Pipeline
Pipeline is the world famous Hawaiian surf break on the North Shore of Oahu.

Pull in
Turning your surfboard in order to enter the wave’s barrel or tube.

Quiver
A surfer's collection of boards as in arrow and quiver.

Rail
Refers to the edges or sides of the surfboard.

Rashee
This is Aussie slang for a surf top to protect against rash, sun and weather

Rip Current
A rip is a current of water usually going back out to the ocean.

Rooster Tail
This is the trail of spray when a surfer shoots off the lip very sharply.

Seppo
Aussie Slang referring to an American as it rhymes with septic tank = yank.

Shark Biscuit
Slang term for a body boarder.

Springy
A wetsuit with short legs and short arms (or no arms) used in water that isn’t freezing but still is cold

Shoulder
The very leading lip of a breaking wave that is unbroken.

Steamer
A thicker wetsuit with long arms and long legs.

Stick
A well used slang term for a surfboard

Stoked
Peaking, excited, stoked. Self explanatory slang term.

Stringer
This is the wooden strip which runs down the whole length of the inside of the surfboard and is designed to provide extra strength and rigidity to the surfboard.

Switchfoot
When a rider can surf with either foot forward.

Tail
This is the rear of the surfboard.

Tail pad
Used for extra footing grip a tail pad is usually a rubber non-slip pad which is stuck to the top of the surfboard back at the tail where your back foot goes. Used instead of or in tandem with surfwax to provide that extra grip especially for surfers doing lots of maneuvers.

360
A cool surfing trick which involves turning the board through a full circle on top of the wave.

Thruster
A shorter surfboard with three fins.

Tube
This is the inside section of a hollow wave ie the barrel.

Vickie
US Slang term for Aussie surfers referring to convict and implying that all Aussies are descended from convicts.

Wetsuit
A rubber outfit used for surfing in very cold water in winter. The wettie was originally made by Jack O'Neill of the famous surfing brand O'Neill.

Wipe Out
Falling off your board whilst riding a wave.