Dota 2 terms glossary: slang for beginners
Dota has its own language: core, support, gank, push, GPM, meta. If half the words in chat are a mystery, this glossary is for you. We collected the main terms and abbreviations by category and explained them in plain words. Terms don't go out of date — use it in any patch.
Roles and positions
Where the team starts: who does what and what the positions are called.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Core | A hero the team plays around for damage. Farms a lot and scales with items. |
| Carry | The main core, position 1. Weak early, but the strongest by the late game. |
| Mid | The central-lane hero, position 2. Levels up fast and sets the tempo. |
| Offlane | The hard-lane hero, position 3. Often the initiator and the team's tank. |
| Support | A helper hero, positions 4 and 5. Vision, control, saving cores. |
| Initiator | The hero who starts a fight by landing control on the enemy. |
| Positions 1–5 | Role split by farm priority: 1 gets the most, 5 the least. |
Roles in detail — in the roles in Dota 2 guide.
Economy and farm
Everything about gold, experience and how a hero gets stronger.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Farm | Earning gold and experience by killing creeps and neutrals. |
| Last hit | Killing a creep with the final blow for gold. |
| Deny | Killing your own creep so the enemy gets no gold or experience. |
| GPM | Gold per minute — your income per minute, a measure of farming speed. |
| XPM | Experience per minute — your leveling speed. |
| Net worth | A hero's total value: gold plus all items. |
| Buyback | A paid instant revive for gold, without waiting for respawn. |
| Core item | A key build item after which the hero comes online. |
How to farm more efficiently — in the farming & last hits and GPM & XPM guides.
Map and movement
Terms for vision, movement and pressure on the map.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Ward | A vision item: gives sight (observer) or reveals invisibles (sentry). |
| Gank | A surprise attack on an out-of-position enemy to get a kill. |
| Rotation | Moving a hero to another lane to create an advantage. |
| Push | Pressuring a lane and taking enemy towers. |
| Split push | Pressuring a far lane alone while the team distracts the enemy. |
| Stack | Gathering several neutral camps together for faster farm. |
| Pull | Drawing creeps into the jungle to control the lane. |
| MIA / miss | "Missing in action" — a warning that an enemy left the lane. |
| High ground | The elevated base area with the throne; favors the defender. |
More detail — in the warding, stacking & pulling and smoke gank guides.
Combat and fights
Words you hear during teamfights and trades.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Teamfight | A team battle involving most of the heroes. |
| Control (CC) | Abilities that lock an enemy down: stun, root, silence, hex. |
| Stun | The target cannot move or use abilities. |
| Silence | Blocks ability use; the target can still move and attack. |
| Burst | Dealing a large amount of damage in a very short time. |
| AoE | Area-of-effect damage or effect hitting several targets. |
| Focus | Concentrating the team's damage on one target. |
| Dispel | Removing applied effects — your own buffs or enemy debuffs. |
| Kite | Dealing damage from range without letting the enemy reach you. |
Where to stand in a fight — in the teamfight positioning guide.
Meta and general slang
Words that describe the game's balance and come up in conversation.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Patch | A game update that changes the balance of heroes, items and mechanics. |
| Meta | The set of strongest heroes and strategies in the current patch. |
| Nerf / buff | Weakening (nerf) and strengthening (buff) a hero or item via a patch. |
| Counter-pick | Picking a hero that is strong against a specific enemy. |
| Imba | An unbalanced, overpowered hero or item. |
| Rosh (Roshan) | The strongest neutral; drops the Aegis and other rewards. |
| Aegis | Roshan's reward: revives the hero once after death. |
| Feed | Dying often, feeding the enemy gold and experience. |
| Tilt | A state where emotions stop you playing rationally. |
How to read balance — in the tier list & meta guide, and about Roshan — Roshan & Aegis.
FAQ
What do core and support mean in Dota 2?
A core is a hero the team plays around for damage: it farms a lot and grows stronger through items. A support is a helper hero: it places vision, lands control, saves allies and helps cores come online. The core spends the team's resources, the support creates them.
What are GPM and XPM?
GPM (gold per minute) is your gold income per minute, a measure of farming speed. XPM (experience per minute) is experience per minute, a measure of leveling speed. The higher these numbers, the faster a hero gets stronger. These are the basic efficiency metrics in the game.
What do gank and push mean?
A gank is a surprise attack on an out-of-position enemy to kill them before they can react. A push is pressuring a lane and taking down enemy towers. Ganks turn an advantage into kills, pushing turns it into map control and buildings.
What are meta and patch?
A patch is a Valve update that changes the balance of heroes, items and mechanics. The meta is the set of heroes and strategies that are strongest in the current patch. Patches move the meta: what used to be strong can become weak after an update.
Now the terms make sense — time to climb
Understanding the game's language is the first step. Next come practice and decisions, and those come with experience. If you want to climb faster, a boost helps, and the guides break the mechanics down deeper. Not sure which format fits — message us in chat.