30 Must-Know Rock Climbing Terms, Phrases and Slang

65 rock climbing terms explained, from belay, crux and dyno to redpoint, send and whipper, plus the slang climbers use.

If you’re curious about the origins of rock climbing, check out our article on who invented rock climbing.

Rock climbing terminology is worth learning before you tie in, because half of it is safety language and the other half is how climbers describe moves to each other. The words associated with rock climbing gear are exact, the words related to rock climbing style are opinionated, and the climbing slang in between is what you will hear at the gym. The rock climbing glossary below holds all three kinds.

Must-Know Rock Climbing Terms, Phrases and Slang:

1. Anchor
2. Belay
3. Carabiner
4. Chalk
5. Dyno
6. Edge
7. Flake
8. GriGri
9. Harness
10. Jam
11. Knot
12. Lead Climbing
13. Mantle
14. Nut
15. On-sight
16. Pitch
17. Quickdraw
18. Rappel
19. Redpoint
20. Rope
21. Route
22. Send
23. Smear
24. Top rope
25. Traverse
26. Undercling
27. V-Scale
28. Whipper
29. Yosemite Decimal System
30. Z-clip

Rock Climbing Glossary: Every Term A to Z

Terms A to C

Term	What It Means
Abseil	The British word for rappel, descending a rope under control.
Anchor	The secure point at the top of a climb or belay station that the rope system hangs on. It can be bolts, gear or a solid natural feature.
Belay	Managing the rope so a falling climber is caught. The belayer feeds slack, takes it in and locks off through a belay device.
Belay device	A friction device used to control the rope while belaying.
Belayer	The person holding the other end of the rope and controlling it. On a climbing wall they are the one standing at the bottom.
Beta	Information about how a route is climbed, from the sequence of moves to where to rest.
Bolt	A permanent metal anchor drilled into the rock for protection.
Bouldering	Climbing short, hard problems close to the ground without a rope, protected by pads and a spotter.
Cam	A spring-loaded device that expands into a crack to hold a fall. Placed and removed by the climber.
Carabiner	The metal snap link with a spring gate that connects everything in the safety chain.
Chalk	Magnesium carbonate used to dry the hands and improve grip, carried in a bag at the waist.
Chalk bag	A small pouch worn on the harness to hold chalk.
Climbing shoes	Tight, flat-soled shoes with sticky rubber for gripping the rock.
Crack climbing	Climbing a route along a crack using jams.
Crash pad	The thick foam mat laid under a boulder problem to take the landing.
Crimp	A small edge held with the fingertips, and the grip position used to hold it.
Crux	The hardest section of a route, the part that decides whether the climb goes.

Terms D to K

Term	What It Means
Dynamic rope	A climbing rope that stretches to absorb the force of a fall.
Dyno	A dynamic move where the climber jumps for the next hold and is briefly off the wall entirely.
Edge	Standing on a small ledge with the edge of the shoe rather than the whole sole.
Figure eight	The standard tie-in knot used to attach the rope to the harness.
Flake	A thin sheet of rock partly detached from the wall. It can be a hold or a warning, depending on how solid it is.
Flash	Climbing a route cleanly on the first attempt, having already been told how to do it.
Free solo	Climbing without a rope or protection of any kind. A fall is not survivable, which is why it stays a tiny corner of the sport.
GriGri	An assisted braking belay device made by Petzl that clamps the rope when it is pulled suddenly.
Harness	The waist and leg loops the climber wears, the attachment point for the rope and the belay device.
Heel hook	Placing the heel on a hold and pulling with the leg, which turns the foot into a third hand.
Jam	Wedging a hand, fist or foot into a crack and twisting so it locks in place.
Jug	A large, positive hold you can wrap a whole hand around. The most welcome thing on a route.
Knot	A tie in the rope or sling. The figure eight follow through is the standard knot for tying into a harness.

Terms L to R

Term	What It Means
Lead climbing	Climbing from the ground up with the rope trailing, clipping into protection along the way. Falls are longer than on top rope.
Lower off	Being lowered down by the belayer after finishing a route.
Mantle	Pressing down on a ledge with the palms to push the body up over it, like getting out of a pool.
Multi-pitch	A route with more than one pitch, climbed in sections.
Nut	A metal wedge on a wire that is slotted into a constriction in a crack as passive protection.
On-sight	Climbing a route first try with no prior information at all, only what can be read from the ground.
Overhang	Terrain steeper than vertical, where the climber’s weight hangs off the arms.
Pinch	A hold gripped between thumb and fingers.
Pitch	One section of a climb between two belay stations, at most one rope length long.
Project	A route a climber works on over many sessions before finally sending it.
Protection	Gear placed or found on a route to catch a fall, such as bolts, nuts and cams.
Quickdraw	Two carabiners joined by a short sling, used to clip the rope to a bolt while leading.
Rappel	Descending a fixed rope under control through a device. British climbers call it abseiling.
Redpoint	Climbing a route cleanly from bottom to top after having practiced it before.
Roof	A section of rock that runs horizontally overhead. The hardest kind of overhang.
Rope	The lifeline. Dynamic ropes stretch to soften a fall, static ropes do not and are used for fixed lines and hauling.
Rope drag	Friction that makes the rope hard to pull up, usually from poorly placed protection.
Route	A defined line up a wall with its own moves and its own grade.

Terms S to Z

Term	What It Means
Send	To climb a route or problem successfully without falling or resting on gear.
Slab	A face less steep than vertical, climbed with balance and friction.
Sloper	A rounded hold with no edge, held by open-handed friction and body position alone.
Smear	Pressing the sole of the shoe flat against blank rock and trusting friction instead of a foothold.
Sport climbing	Roped climbing on routes with permanent bolts already in place.
Spotter	The person who guides a falling boulderer onto the pad and keeps their head off the ground.
Static rope	A rope with very little stretch, used for rappelling and hauling, not for lead falls.
Take	The call asking the belayer to pull the rope tight and hold the climber.
Top rope	A setup where the rope runs from the belayer up through an anchor and back down to the climber, so falls are short.
Topping out	Climbing over the top of a boulder or cliff to finish.
Trad climbing	Roped climbing where the leader places all the protection while climbing and the follower removes it.
Traverse	Moving sideways across a wall rather than up it.
Undercling	A hold gripped from underneath with the palm facing up, pulling outward instead of down.
V-scale	The American bouldering grade scale, from VB and V0 up to V17, the current top grade.
Whipper	A long lead fall past the last clipped piece of protection, ending in a swing.
Yosemite Decimal System	The American grading system for roped climbs. Technical rock falls in the fifth class and is written from 5.0 upward, with letter grades added at the harder end.
Z-clip	Clipping the rope into a quickdraw using rope from below the previous clip instead of from the climber. It jams the system and has to be undone.

What Is It Called When…? Rock Climbing Terms by Situation

Know what happened but not the word for it? Find the situation on the left and the rock climbing term on the right.

When…	It Is Called
You climb a rock face without a rope	Free soloing
You climb a route on the first try with no information	On-sight
You climb a route on the first try after being told the moves	Flash
You climb a route cleanly after practising it	Redpoint
You go down a rock face on a rope	Rappel (abseil)
You move sideways across a wall	Traverse
You jump for a hold out of reach	Dyno
You push down on a ledge to get onto it	Mantle
You take a big lead fall	Whipper
You clip the rope the wrong way between two draws	Z-clip
The hardest move of a route is reached	Crux
Someone tells you how to do the moves	Beta
Your forearms are too tired to hold on	Pumped
Your leg shakes uncontrollably	Elvis leg (sewing machine leg)
You want the belayer to hold you	Take
A route is harder than its grade	Sandbagged
You hit the ground in a fall	Decking
You climb on a route you’re working for many sessions	Project
You finish a route	Send

#1 Anchor

The fixed point at the top of a route or pitch where the rope is secured, usually two bolts linked together so one can fail without disaster. Top ropes run through the anchor, and lead climbers clip into it to lower off or to belay a partner up.

In a sentence: “Clip the anchor, call safe and I’ll lower you.”

#2 Belay

Managing the rope for a climber so a fall is caught. The belayer takes in or pays out rope through a belay device and locks it off when the climber falls. The standard calls are “On belay?” from the climber and “Belay on” from the belayer.

In a sentence: “On belay? Belay on. Climbing. Climb on.”

#3 Carabiner

A metal snap-link with a spring-loaded gate, used to connect rope, harness and protection. Locking carabiners have a sleeve that stops the gate opening and are used for belaying and at anchors. Climbers shorten the word to biner.

In a sentence: “Lock your carabiner before you start.”

#4 Chalk

Magnesium carbonate powder that dries sweaty hands and improves grip. Climbers carry it in a chalk bag on the harness. Some areas restrict or ban it because the white marks stay on the rock.

In a sentence: “Chalk up before the crux, it’s slopey.”

#5 Dyno

A dynamic move in which the climber jumps for a hold that is out of static reach, with both hands and often both feet leaving the wall. Dynos are especially common in modern indoor bouldering.

In a sentence: “You can’t reach it statically, you have to dyno.”

#6 Edge

A hold with a flat, horizontal surface, and also the technique of standing on it with the inside or outside edge of the shoe. Precise edging is one of the first footwork skills taught to beginners.

In a sentence: “Get your inside edge on that little foothold.”

#7 Flake

A thin slab of rock partly detached from the face, which can be climbed by pulling on its edge in a layback. Loose flakes are dangerous. Flaking a rope also means laying it out loosely so it runs without tangling.

In a sentence: “Flake the rope before you tie in.”

#8 GriGri

A brand of assisted-braking belay device made by Petzl since 1991. It is meant to lock the rope automatically when the climber falls, but the belayer must still keep a hand on the brake strand at all times.

In a sentence: “Even with a GriGri, never let go of the brake strand.”

#9 Harness

The waist belt and leg loops a climber ties into. The rope goes through the tie-in points, never through a gear loop, and the belay loop is the strongest point of the harness. Harnesses are retired after a few years of use or after heavy wear.

In a sentence: “Check your harness, the buckle has to be doubled back on older models.”

#10 Jam

Wedging a hand, fist, finger or foot into a crack and twisting or flexing it so it holds. Jamming is the core skill of crack climbing and is often painful to learn, which is why crack climbers tape their hands.

In a sentence: “Hand jam, then stack another one above it.”

#11 Knot

Climbers use a small set of knots. The figure-eight follow-through ties the climber into the rope, the clove hitch attaches to anchors and the prusik grips a rope as a backup. The tie-in knot is checked by the partner before every climb.

In a sentence: “Check my knot before I leave the ground.”

#12 Lead Climbing

Climbing with the rope tied to the harness and clipping it into protection on the way up. The leader can fall twice the distance to the last clip, plus slack and rope stretch, so lead falls are longer than top-rope falls.

In a sentence: “He’s leading the route for the first time today.”

#13 Mantle

A move for getting onto a ledge or over the top of a boulder: the climber presses down on the hold with the palm, like climbing out of a swimming pool, until a foot can be placed on it.

In a sentence: “You need to mantle to top out this boulder.”

#14 Nut

A metal wedge on a wire, slotted into a narrowing crack as protection. Nuts have no moving parts, which makes them light and reliable. The second removes them with a nut tool.

In a sentence: “The nut is bomber, keep going.”

#15 On-sight

Climbing a route cleanly on the first attempt without any prior information about the moves, not even watching someone else. With prior information it is a flash, and after practice a redpoint.

In a sentence: “She on-sighted the 7c without any beta.”

#16 Pitch

One section of a multi-pitch route, climbed between two belay stations and usually no longer than a rope length. Big walls like El Capitan’s Nose have around 30 pitches.

In a sentence: “The third pitch is the crux of the whole route.”

#17 Quickdraw

Two carabiners joined by a short sewn sling, used to connect the rope to a bolt or other protection. The bolt end and the rope end should not be swapped, because the bolt can roughen the carabiner and damage the rope.

In a sentence: “You’ll need twelve quickdraws for this route.”

#18 Rappel

Descending a rope under control with a friction device, called abseiling in British English. A large share of serious climbing accidents happens on rappel, which is why climbers tie knots in the rope ends.

In a sentence: “Tie knots in the ends before you rappel.”

#19 Redpoint

Climbing a route cleanly from the bottom to the top after practising it first. The term comes from Frankenjura in Germany, where climber Kurt Albert painted a red dot at the base of routes he had free climbed in the 1970s.

In a sentence: “After a week of attempts she finally redpointed it.”

#20 Rope

Dynamic climbing ropes stretch to absorb the force of a fall, unlike static ropes, which are used for rappelling and hauling. Single ropes for sport climbing are usually between 9 and 10 mm thick and 60 to 80 metres long.

In a sentence: “Bring the 70-metre rope, the lower off is long.”

#21 Route

A defined line up a wall or cliff with a grade and a name, usually chosen by the first ascensionist. Indoors routes are marked by hold color and reset regularly.

In a sentence: “Which route are you trying, the blue one?”

#22 Send

To climb a route or boulder problem successfully without falling. “Did you send?” is the standard question, and sending a long-term project is a big moment for any climber.

In a sentence: “She sent her project on the last day of the trip.”

#23 Smear

Placing the sole of the shoe flat against the rock where there is no hold, relying on friction from the rubber. Smearing works best with weight over the feet and is a key skill on slabs.

In a sentence: “No footholds there, just smear and trust it.”

#24 Top rope

Climbing with the rope already anchored above the climber, so a fall is only as long as the slack and rope stretch. Most beginners start on top rope in gyms.

In a sentence: “Start on top rope until you’re comfortable.”

#25 Traverse

Climbing sideways rather than up. Traverses link sections of a route, and long traverses are popular in gyms as endurance training. On top rope a traverse means a pendulum swing if the climber falls.

In a sentence: “The traverse at the top is harder than it looks.”

#26 Undercling

A hold gripped from underneath with the palm facing up. The climber pulls up on it while pushing with the feet, which lets them reach far above. Underclings feel easier the higher the hold is on the body.

In a sentence: “Grab the undercling and step your feet up high.”

#27 V-Scale

The American bouldering grade scale, starting at VB or V0 and currently reaching V17. It was devised by John Sherman at Hueco Tanks in Texas, and the V comes from his nickname Vermin. Europe uses the Fontainebleau scale instead.

In a sentence: “It’s a V5 in this gym but would be harder outdoors.”

#28 Whipper

A long, dramatic lead fall. Big whippers are a normal part of sport climbing on steep rock, where there is nothing to hit, but much more serious on slabs or above ledges.

In a sentence: “He took a massive whipper at the last clip.”

#29 Yosemite Decimal System

The American grade system for roped climbs, written as 5.1 to 5.15d. The 5 stands for technical climbing, and the number after the point rises with difficulty. From 5.10 on, grades are split into a, b, c and d.

In a sentence: “It’s a 5.10b, a good grade to start leading.”

#30 Z-clip

A clipping mistake where the climber grabs the rope from below the previous quickdraw and clips it into the next one, so the rope runs in a Z shape. The rope drag becomes severe and a fall can be dangerous. The fix is to unclip the lower draw.

In a sentence: “Stop, you’ve Z-clipped, unclip the bottom draw.”

Rock Climbing Slang Players and Fans Actually Use

Slang	What It Means
Beta	Information about how to do the moves on a route.
Spray	Giving beta nobody asked for, or boasting about climbs.
Sandbag	A route that is graded easier than it really is.
Gumby	A clueless beginner, used affectionately or not.
Choss	Loose, crumbling, poor-quality rock.
Pumped	Forearms so full of lactic acid that the climber can no longer hold on.
Flapper	A torn flap of skin on the hand, usually from a sharp hold.
Dirtbag	A climber who lives cheaply, often in a van, to climb as much as possible.
Gripped	Scared stiff on a climb.
Elvis leg	A leg shaking uncontrollably from fear or fatigue, also sewing machine leg.
Thank-god hold	A big, reassuring hold after a hard section.
Deck	To hit the ground in a fall.
Bomber	Rock-solid protection or a hold that will not fail.
Crimper	A climber who is strong on small, sharp edges.
Allez	French for go, shouted to encourage climbers, especially at crags and competitions.

Rock Climbing Expressions and Sayings in Everyday English

• Send it: Go for it with full commitment, from climbing’s word for completing a route, now common in general slang.
• Off belay: Done and safe, no longer needing the rope, from the call a climber makes after reaching the anchor.
• Learning the ropes: Getting to know how something works. It comes from sailing rather than climbing, but climbers use it literally.
• Between a rock and a hard place: Facing two difficult choices. The phrase predates climbing but became famous through Aron Ralston’s 2004 climbing memoir of the same name.

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