Just like any other industry that is full of real tough aficionados and truly ambitious rookies, the sneakerverse (the world around trading rare kicks) has developed its own lingo that is hardly comprehensible from day one by an outsider. It takes a steep learning curve to become fluent in this terminology and the industry itself certainly deserves some comprehensive glossary to get you started in the business.
Realizing this concern from the sneakerheads that rely on our proxies for buying kicks for reselling or as a collectors’ hobby, we decided to put together a dictionary containing the most frequently circulating slang for sneakers. The list of terms below should be enough to feel like at home in your cook group and get your successful copping started.
Sneakerhead Glossary
A
ACG – All Conditions Gear. This abbreviation refers to a line of sportswear by Nike. The ACG line encompasses shoes, clothes and accessories, specifically designed to be worn in severe conditions and across all terrains.
ADC – abbreviation stands for Adidas Dot Com. This is the official website of Adidas that is called ADC all across Reddit and relevant cook groups.
Aglet – a metal or plastic tip of your shoelace. It protects the shoelace from wear-and-tear. Ever wondered what it is called? Now you know.
Air Max – authentic shoe line by Nike with a built-in air cushioning unit in the sole. It came out in 1987 and gained popularity among professional athletes and sneaker enthusiasts. This line is available in a variety of styles and colors ready to be used for sports activities and casual wearing.
AF1 – stands for Nike Air Force One. One of the iconic Nike models released in 1982. The designer of AF1 Bruce Kilgore called it after the aircraft of POTUS (The President of the United States). These kicks gained even more popularity as a cultural icon of street fashion in the hip-hop community.
AJ1 – stands for Nike Air Jordan One. This is a product of collaboration between Nike and Michael Jordan himself. Originally released in 1985 this pair made so much noise in the industry, completely reshaping the shoe business and the influence of prominent athletes on it. The shoes come in a variety of color schemes and styles. They feature great foot support and comfort. Want to learn more about AJ1? Watch the recently released movie called ‘Air’, directed by Ben Affleck in 2023 that carefully retells the story of making the shoe with all key figures involved in the process. Right now, these kicks are a must-have for all decent sneaker collections.
B
Beater(s) – a pair of kicks that you would wear anywhere and under any weather conditions. They may have some stains on them but you still don’t mind, since it just makes them more brutal.
BIN – stands for Buy It Now. This denotes the final price a seller is willing to sell the shoes for. This presumes no haggling or further price-related negotiations.
BNIB – stands for Brand New In Box. Can also be used as NIB (New in box). This abbreviation means that the shoes have never been worn, all the packaging is intact and the tags and accessories are in place.
B-grade – this refers to shoes not meeting the factory quality standards. They may have some production defects or damages. Normally, such sneakers are sold at lower prices and can be seen as a good bargain.
Bot – an app, script or software that makes it possible to automate the process of purchasing sneakers online.
Bred – this refers to a color combination containing black and red (as you guessed). These colors can be seen on Air Jordans, for instance.
Bricks – sneakers that provoke instant purchase for further resell but eventually leading to making no extra cash. This can be an overhyped model that just does not meet the original expectations.
BTEC – this term refers to a novice seller who does not have a clue about his actions.
C
Colorway – this term refers to the color scheme and combination of sneakers. As kicks come in a variety of colors and styles we use this term to describe a range of colors and their combination.
Cop – this verb is very familiar to sneakerheads all around the World. This sneaks slang means ‘to buy’ something. The gerund ‘copping’ is its derivative.
Cook group – a community of sneakerheads, normally on Discord, that is meant to help its members in learning tips and tricks for copping the most coveted sneakers online. It can be a paid membership group, organized by a bot producer with all content pertinent to that bot or brand.
Crepes – Yet another way to call sneakers or kicks. Originally coined by sneakerheads from the UK.
D
Dad shoe – a shoe that appears to be clunky and bulky in design. Normally associated with the fashion of the 90s.
DC proxies (or Datacenter Proxies) – type of proxies that can be used for copping sneakers when the speed of your connection is the top priority. Such a proxy can be less reliable on geo-sensitive platforms than a residential IP but still can be a winner in a datacenter rotating proxy setup. Follow this link to learn more recommendations on using datacenter proxies for sneakers.
Deadstock (or DS) – this term refers to sneaks that have never been tried on or worn. Normally, such shoes are available in a box with all tags and labels attached.
Deubre – refers to the metal or plastic tag appearing at the bottom of the lacing. Can be found on Nike Air Force 1 sneakers.
Drop – probably the most frequently used term among all the sneakerhead definitions to describe a release of a new model of sneakers.
E
Elite – this one is pretty straightforward: it stands for the most premium offering from a certain brand.
EQT – a line of sneakers from Adidas famous for its durability, performance and comfort.
F
Factory-laced – this term refers to sneakers that are so new that even the lacing is still intact from the factory.
Flaking – used to describe a situation when a buyer suddenly decides to back out of a deal for some reason.
Friends and Family (F&F) – here we are talking about a release of rare sneakers among people in the inner circle (designers, collaborators and their peers).
FSR (or Full Size Run) – a common abbreviation that denotes that such sneakers come in all sizes from the smallest to the biggest.
Fufu – fake sneakers; something all sneakerheads want to avoid at all cost.
Fugazi – fake or really damaged sneakers.
G
Garms – this one is obviously a short version of garments.
GOAT (or Greatest Of All Times) – in the world of sneakers it stands for the ultimate model that casts a shadow on everything preceding it.
GR or General Release – normally a low tier model of sneakers that is available in the mass market.
Grail – the most coveted kicks on your list that you have been trying to buy for so long.
H
Heat – this one refers to a rare pair of kicks that you simply cannot afford to miss.
Hiroshi – Hiroshi Fujiwara – one of the most iconic figures in the world of streetwear fashion often referred to as “the godfather of streetwear”.
Holy Grail – see Grail above. A pair of sneakers that you desperately want and/or need to cop.
Hypebeast – someone highly concerned and motivated to look trendy just to impress everyone around.
Hyperstrike – the ultimate sneakers in the lineup to collect or cop for resale.
I
Insole – a special layer of cushioning worn inside the sneakers. Its purpose is to increase comfort, deodorize the feet and/or add to the warmth.
Instacop – a pair of sneakers that you will instantly buy, should you have such an opportunity.
Icy sole – a pair of kicks with a transparent sole.
J
Jumpman – refers to sneakers or apparels from Michael Jordan’s line. The name clearly comes from the iconic representation of MJ flying the air, which was selected for the logo of the line.
K
KAWS – this term refers to the artist and designer Brian Donnelly. Brian is famous for collaborations and sneaks releases with Nike.
Kicks – a general term for sports shoes and sneakers.
L
LBJs – line of sneakers by Nike named after LeBron James.
LE – stands for Limited Edition of kicks.
Ls or Loss – stands for a failure to cop some sneakers.
M
Medial – this term describes the inner side of a sneaker.
Mids (or a Mid-top) – a sneaker that has a special styling which reaches to your ankle.
N
NIB (or New In Box) – stands for unworn or brand new sneakers.
NOS (or New Old Stock) – this abbreviation describes shoes from an old release that have not been ever worn.
NSW – stands for Nike Sportswear.
NWT (or New With Tags) – see Deadstock above. A way to describe sneakers that have never been tried on or worn. The kicks should be in a box with all tags and labels attached.
O
OBO (or Our Best Offer) – this abbreviation means that there is some room for haggling here.
OG (or Original) – this one refers to an original release of a sneaker. Normally describes the first launch of a model.
P
Pack – kicks that are launched as a series product.
PE (or Player Edition) – shoes that are made exclusively for some athletes and are not meant for public release.
Q
QS (or Quickstrike) – sneakers available only from Tier 0 retailers that are absolutely sought after. They are normally released in limited quantities and without notice.
R
Reseller – an individual, buying sneakers with the sole purpose of making money reselling them. A novice reseller is often called a BTEC (see above).
Residential proxies – residential static proxy servers that can be used for copping sneakers with bots. You will need residential proxies for safe placing of orders on rare sneakers during geo restricted drops.
Restock – refers to a situation when an originally released and sold out model is replenished in stock.
Retro – describes a re-release of an original pair of sneakers.
S
Sample – a production prototype of a shoe not meant for retail sales.
SB – nothing but skateboarding.
SE (or Special Edition) – a special release of sneakers to commemorate an event or occasion.
Sneakerhead – an individual totally obsessed with sneaker culture. You can say ‘sneakerhead’ meaning a person demonstrating in-depth knowledge of the shoe market and industry.
StockX – one of the most prominent resale marketplaces among the sneaker community.
T
Toebox – a part of a sneakers that surrounds its front.
Tonal – this term refers to monochrome sneakers.
Trainers – yet another synonym for sneakers from the UK.
TTS (or True To Size) – this abbreviation describes the ability of sneakers to fit perfectly to your usual size.
TZ (or Tier Zero) – refers to the top Nike retail accounts.
U
Upper – this word refers to the section of a shoe above the sole.
Uptown – this is how Nike Air Force One shoes are called in New York.
V
VNDS (or Very Near Deadstock) – this term is synonymous with NDS and refers to sneakers with absolutely minimal wear and tear.
W – this letter denotes ‘winning a cop’ in most cook groups or forums.
WTB – frequently used abbreviation that means ‘Want to buy’.
WTS – yes, you guessed right! This abbreviation means ‘Want to sell’.
WTT – and this one stands for ‘Want to trade’.
X
X – this letter normally refers to a collaboration between two brands or an artist and a brand.
Y
Y-3 – a famous collaboration between Adidas and a designer from Japan Yohji Yamamoto.
Yeezy (or YZY) – a line of sneakers famously created by Kanye West for Adidas.
YOR (or Year of Release) – refers to a particular year a certain model got released.
Yard Sale – a term to describe a massive sale of sneakers at discounted prices.
Z
Zapatillas – the Spanish word for sneakers.
Zapatos – the Spanish word for shoes.
Zebra – a popular black-and-white color scheme found on some sneaker models.
Zoku Runner – a special lightweight model of sneakers designed by Reebok.
Conclusion
We hope that the sneakerhead terminology that we compiled into a comprehensive glossary above will give you some proper guidance during copping the most cherished sneakers available online. And to add to the overall satisfying experience of botting for kicks online, we have designed and presented a whole lineup of proxies for sneakers bots and even proxies for sneakers guides if you happen to have a problem accessing such sites. You can immediately request from our account managers via the chat-box to the right.
FAQ
Please read our Documentation if you have questions that are not listed below.
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What is sneakerhead slang?
This is a lexicon containing special words and abbreviations that are used by sneakerheads (shoe aficionados) all around the world. You can hear and use these words during copping (purchasing) sneakers online or in discussions inside cook groups (special discussion forums of sneakerheads).
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What are sneakers proxies?
These are special IPs (proxy servers) that are used for copping sneakers online. Most of such proxies are placed inside bots for fast checkouts.
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Are your proxies compatible with bots?
Absolutely! Our proxies are compatible with all popular copping bots out there, used by sneakerheads around the Globe.
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Do I need to know sneakerhead lingo to buy sneakers online?
It certainly helps to become more aware about the situation in the industry and during making your sneaker-related choices.
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What type of sneakers proxies are the best for botting?
If you have any geo restrictions for accessing an online store or sneaker platform, then your choice will be a residential proxy. If your utmost priority is speed, then you will be better off with datacenter IPs.
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