Glossary of graffiti


A number of words and phrases that have come to describe different styles and aspects of graffiti and its subculture. Like other jargon and colloquialisms, some of these terms may vary regionally, taking on different meanings across different cities and countries. The following terminology originates primarily in the United States.

A–D

;angels
;all city
;autorack
;back-to-back
;backjump
;bencher
;black book
;blockbuster
;bite
;bomb
;buff
;burn
;burner
;burning
;cannon
;cap
;crew
;domming
;dropsy
;dress-up
;dubs

E–K

;end-to-end
;etch
;fat cap
;fills or fill ins
;fire extinguisher
;gallery, also yard
;German Montana
;getting up
;ghost
;going over
;hat
;head
;heavens
;hollows
;insides
;king
;Krylon

L–P

;landmark
;legal
;lock on
;married couple
;massacre
;mop
;mural
;one-liner
;paint-eater
;painters touch
;paste-up
;patch
;pichação
;piece
;PT
;punition

R–W

;racking
Acquiring supplies through various forms of fraud can also be referred to as "racking" in some circles, though this use is far less common, as is likewise the use of fraud as a means to acquire writing supplies.
;roll call
;roller
;rook
;run
;Rusto
;scribe or scratch
;slam
;slash
Back before camera-phones/smartphones and the proliferation of social media websites, watching to see whether your work gets left alone used to be the only feedback from strangers you had to go off of.
It may also be referred to as, capping, crossing out, ing, going over, hating, marking, or to line, as in, "I lined their tag."
;soak up
;Spanish Montana
;stainer
;sticker
;straight letter
;tag
;throw-up
;top-to-bottom
;topping
;toy
;undersides
;up
;whole car
;whole train
on a truck in Paris
;wildstyle
;window-down
; woodblock graffiti
;writer