What are slang terms used in surfing?
Rachel Ellis
Published Jan 19, 2026
31 Surf Slangs - Friendly List of Surfer Lingo and Terms
- #1 — Stoked.
- #2 — Lineup.
- #3 — Set.
- #4 — Whitewater.
- #5 — Kook.
What is slang for surfboard?
In addition to the basic “longboard” and “shortboard,” surfboard brands and shapers have long been giving fun names to their various board shapes (“egg,” “fish” or “gun”—sound familiar?).
What do surfers call good waves?
When the waves are good, it's said to be cranking. This is the art of walking up and down a longboard, foot over foot. When you see some guy / gal running up and down their board, you'll now know what to call it. Making a cutback is reversing the direction that you are surfing in one smooth fluid move.
What is another term for surfing?
cruising, perusing, scanning, skimming (through), thumbing (through)
What is a surfer girl called?
Wahine – Female surfer.
28 related questions foundWhat does Lola mean for surfing?
LOLA, the Surfline swell model that spurred a forecasting revolution, is retiring after 20 years. The brainchild of Sean Collins and William O'Reilly, LOLA provided timely and accurate forecasts for millions of surfers around the world over the past two decades.
What is surfing called in Hawaii?
Surfing originated in the region we now call Polynesia but was the most advanced and documented in Hawaii. Originally called wave sliding, this sport was more than just casual fun for both genders. It had a lot of societal and spiritual meaning to the people, making it vastly important to their culture.
What do you call a surfer dude?
Bro – dude, brother, surfer—can be both male or female.
What are the other names of Internet?
synonyms for Internet
- WWW.
- cyberspace.
- ARPANET.
- National Information Infrastructure.
- hyperspace.
- infobahn.
- information highway.
- information superhighway.
How do surfers say cool?
Exclamatory slang
It's an exclamation of zeal, also meaning cool or impressive (i.e. “that bottom turn was sick bro”). Stoked: Pronounced like “soaked” but with a “T.” It means pure excitement (i.e. Surfer 1: “how stoked are you to hit the waves today?” Surfer 2: “beyond stoked”).
What does Kook mean in surfing?
Kook, noun. Pronunciation: kük : An individual with no understanding of the social and sartorial norms of surfing. In the water, a kook's cluelessness can aggravate or endanger other surfers; on occasion, kooks can even be recognized solely by the faux pas they commit out of the ocean.
What does glassy mean in surfing?
Glassy refers to the surface of the water when surfing on days without wind. On these days, the water is as smooth as a mirror, no matter how small a bump in the wave disturbs the surfers when surfing. From clean waves with glassy water dreams every surfer.
What is a section in surfing?
“section” – a part of a wave. When a surfer “makes a section” a surfer is staying in front of a breaking section of the wave. “set wave” – a larger wave (the largest waves usually break in sets of 2,3, or 4) “shortboard” – a shorter, narrower, thinner surfboard.
What does deep mean in surfing?
“deep” – the steepest part of the shoulder closest to the peak of the wave is considered the deepest part of the wave. Often when a surfer is “too deep” they are unable to drop in to a wave without falling off of their board. “down the line” – along the face of the wave.
What is limb synonym?
limb
- arm.
- branch.
- extremity.
- leg.
- stem.
- wheel.
- wing.
- bough.
What is the synonym of crawl?
go on belly. hang back. loiter along. move at snail's pace. move on hands and knees.
What does Lotus mean for surfing?
LOTUS is our new forecasting model; the successor of LOLA. This new forecast model combines cutting edge prediction technology with NOAA's Wavewatch III source code to give you more accurate wave forecasts.
Why do surfers say Tubular?
"Totally tubular" is totally out. It was once used to describe a perfect, curled wave. But surfers may still occasionally say they're going to "Hang 10" (to hang so far up the board that all your toes are hanging off). That word is so out, it's now in.
Why do surfers say Yew?
This refers to a feeling of enthusiasm or exhilaration towards the waves breaking. Another widely used term for surfers is "YEW!", which is an indicator that a large wave has been spotted, however mostly shouted while a surfer is catching or has recently finished riding a wave.
What does NALU mean in English?
The name Nalu is primarily a gender-neutral name of Hawaiian origin that means Surging Surf, Wave.
What is he e NALU?
The Hawaiians, gifted in the ocean beyond measure, reveled in the art of surfing, or he'e nalu (literally: wave sliding). Since Western contact, the sport has inspired fantastical artistic renditions.
Who is the most famous surfer?
PHOTOS: Kelly Slater, the most famous surfer in the world, is from Cocoa Beach. Kelly Slater on the beach in Fiji. Slater, a Cocoa Beach native, has won 55 major titles. He is the most famous surfer in the world.
What does drive mean in surfing?
Drive. Drive is said to how much the fins help you accelerate out of turns if you put enough pressure on them against the water. While fins by definition will produce drag for a surfboard going straight, the water surging against a fin in mid turn will produce a feeling of acceleration. This is known as drive.