Pickleball Terms & Glossary

New to pickleball? The sport has its own language and learning it makes the game a lot easier to follow and play. Here’s a plain-English guide to the terms you’ll hear most on the court.

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The Kitchen (Non-Volley Zone)

The kitchen is the rectangular zone extending 7 feet from the net on both sides of the court. Players are not allowed to volley the ball — hit it out of the air — while standing inside it. Understanding and respecting the kitchen is the single most important concept in pickleball, and most competitive points are won and lost right at the kitchen line.

Dink

A dink is a soft, controlled shot hit from near the kitchen line that arcs gently over the net and lands in the opponent’s kitchen. It’s the opposite of a power shot, and that’s precisely the point. Dinking forces opponents into a slow, precise exchange where patience wins. Most experienced players agree that mastering the dink is what separates beginners from intermediate players.

Volley

A volley is any shot hit before the ball bounces. Volleys are legal anywhere on the court except the kitchen. Fast exchanges at the kitchen line often involve rapid volleys, which is why court positioning and quick hands matter so much in pickleball.

The Two-Bounce Rule

When a point begins, the ball must bounce once on each side before either team can volley. This means the serving team must let the return bounce, and the receiving team must let the serve bounce. After those two bounces, volleys are allowed. This rule exists to prevent the serving team from rushing the net and dominating with aggressive volleys right off the serve.

Smash (Overhead)

A smash is an aggressive overhead shot used when the ball is high in the air, similar to an overhead in tennis. It’s one of the few purely offensive shots in pickleball. Smashes are most effective when an opponent’s lob lands short, giving you a chance to drive it downward with force. Timing and placement matter more than raw power.

Lob

A lob is a high arcing shot hit over the opponent’s head, designed to push them back from the kitchen line. It’s a tactical shot used to disrupt positioning when your opponents are crowding the net. A well-executed lob can completely reset a rally. A poorly executed one is usually punished with a smash.

Ace

An ace is a serve that lands in bounds and is not successfully returned by the opponent, winning the point outright. Aces are less common in pickleball than in tennis because the underhand serve limits power, but a well-placed serve to a corner can still catch players off guard.

Erne

An erne is an advanced shot where a player moves outside the court boundary to volley the ball beside the kitchen rather than inside it, legally bypassing the non-volley zone restriction. It’s a crowd-pleasing move and surprisingly effective when timed well. Named after Erne Perry, the player credited with popularizing it.

Falafel (Dead Paddle)

A falafel is a mishit where the ball barely comes off the paddle and falls well short of its intended target. It happens when a player doesn’t make solid contact, often because they were late to the ball or used the wrong grip pressure. The term is playful but the shot is universally frustrating to hit.

Dillball

A dillball is a live ball that has bounced once inbounds and is still in play. The term is mostly used in casual conversation to describe the state of a ball during a rally rather than as a formal rulebook term. You’ll hear it on recreational courts more than competitive ones.

Pickle!

“Pickle!” is the word a server calls out before serving, equivalent to “ball in play” or “ready” in other sports. It’s a heads-up to all players on the court that the serve is coming. You’ll hear it shouted on every single court you ever play on, and it never gets old.

Third Shot Drop

The third shot drop is one of the most important strategic shots in pickleball. It’s the third shot of a rally (the serve is first, the return is second), typically hit by the serving team, designed to land softly in the opponent’s kitchen. The goal is to slow the pace of the point and give the serving team time to move up to the kitchen line. Mastering this shot is a major milestone for any developing player.

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Hear a term on the court that isn’t here? Drop it in the comments and we’ll add it to the glossary.