B

• Beaters – Sneakers worn despite creases, scuffs, stains, and smell
• Bred" – Black and red sneakers
• B Grade – Shop-worn seconds sold at a discount
• Bricks - Hyped sneakers bought strictly for resale that end up not being as profitable as first predicted –– or not selling at all.

C

• "Coke whites" – Pristine white sneakers
• "Crispy" – Clean
• "Colorway" – The combination of colors or symbols on a pair of sneakers
• "Cop" (used as a verb) – To purchase or acquire
• "Cozy boy" – Fashionable but also comfortable
• “Creps” - London slang for sneakers.

D

• "Deadstock" – A pair of sneakers that has never been worn
• "Deubre”– Also called lace tags are popular on shoes like Air Force Ones
• "Dope" – Fashionable
• "Double up" – Buying two identical pairs of sneakers
• "Drop" – Release of a new sneaker
• "Dub" - no longer viable

E

F

• “Factory Laced” When sneakers retain the characteristic lacing they leave the factory with. Seen as an indicator that they are unworn.
• "Feezy" – Fake Yeezys
• "Fire" – Very good
• "Flop" – Poorly sold
• “Flip” - Sell 

• "Flip Flop” - The propensity for sneakerheads to change opinion on an upcoming sneaker release, where a ’drop’ turns into a ‘must cop’ last-minute

• “Friends n Family” A shoe that is so rare that it is only gifted out to the ‘friends and family’ of employees at the sneaker brand

• "Fresh" – New and cool

• "Fugazi" – Fake

G

• "Goat" – Greatest of all time
• "Garms" – Clothes
• "Grail" – Very rare sneakers, as in Holy Grail
• "GR" – General release, or common

• “GS” - an abbreviation of ‘grade school’ meaning sneakers designed for children that some women with small feet purchase for their lower price point and unique colorways.

• "Gum sole" – Sneakers with solid rubber soles
• "Gutties" – Scottish Slang term for trainers/ sneakers.

H

• "Heat" – Rare sneakers that draw looks
• "Hypebeast" – Trendies who only buy the latest release. Hypebeasts buy whatever the celebrities are wearing and tend to copy people like hip-hop artist Kanye West. By 2020, hypebeast became a derogatory term in the UK for a hipster whose style had begun branching out into designer streetwear.
• "High Top(s)" – A shoe that rises above or on the ankle mainly used for ankle support during sports.

I

• "Ice" – Sneakers with transparent soles
• "Instacop" – Impulse buying

J

• "J's" – Another name for Jordan brand shoes
• "JB" – The Jordan Brand logo (see below)
• "Jumpman" – Basketball player Michael Jordan, also can refer to the Jordan logo depicting Michael often seen on the shoes.

K

• "Kicks" – Shoes

L

• "L" – Soss/unable to purchase
• "Lit up" – Great
• "Lows" – Also called low tops are shoes that sit below the ankle

M

• "Mids" – Also called mid tops are shoes that sit just above the ankle

N

• "Nib" – Unworn, new in the box

• “NOS” - An abbreviation of a phrase used by original sneakerheads, ‘New Old Stock’ was used to describe the discovery of unsold and unworn stock of an old sneaker release. These discoveries were usually made in family-run sportswear shops that didn’t realize the value of what they had sitting in their stockrooms.

O

• “OBO” - If you see this on a sneaker reseller’s listing it means that the seller is willing to accept the listed price ‘Or Best Offer’. That could mean you might pay less for the sneaker, but it also means that a higher bidder is likely to win the shoe over you too.
• "OG" – Original, derived from the term "original gangster"
• “On ice” - An unworn pair of sneakers you’re saving to wear in the future.

P

• “Pack” - A curated selection of sneakers that are released as a group. E.g. 

• “Player Edition” - A sneaker designed by or for an athlete that is released to the general public.

• “Player Exclusive” - A ‘player edition’ made exclusively for an athlete that will never be released to the general public.

Q

• "Quickstrikes" – Limited edition sneakers and prototypes with a regional early release, especially Nikes, and are highly desirable status symbols for American sneaker collectors.

R

• "Reseller" – A person who buys large quantities of unworn popular sneakers to sell at a profit
• "Red October" – Very rare red sneakers by Nike and rapper Kanye West

• “Reseller” - People who purchase sneakers just to sell them on and make a profit. Usually found queuing overnight for the latest drops or buying up full-size runs of stock. Sometimes have a connection at sneaker brands or stores.

• “Restock” - When a store receives a new delivery of a previously sold-out sneaker.

• “Retro” - A retrospective release of an old colorway. Usually the same as the original but can come with minor changes.

S

• “Sample” - A prototype sneaker created by footwear designers for promotional or testing purposes that are never put into mass production.

• “Size run” -  The range of sneaker sizes a retailer has in stock. If they have sizes 6-12 then they are said to have a full size run or ‘FSR’.
• "Silhouette" - Design of a sneaker
• "Sitting" – Referring to sneakers produced in large quantities that go unsold
• "Slept On" – Unappreciated by the wider community
• "Steezy" – Stylish

T

• "Tackies" - South African teenage slang for sneakers
• "Tonal" – Sneakers in a single color, as in monotone.
• “Trainers” - The British term for sneakers.

U

• "Unauthorised" – counterfeit
• "Uptowns" - slang used to refer to the Nike Air Force 1 (also known as "uppies", or classics) The term uptowns came from the popularity of the shoe in Uptown NYC Hoods like Harlem and Washington Heights, where the Nike Air Force 1 low is a continued favorite sneaker. 

V

• VNDS: Very Near Deadstock, sneakers worn briefly or only to try on.

W

• W: Win/successful purchase.
• Wild :Amazing.

X

Y

Z

(Deconstructed model of the Nike Tailwind, Courtesy of Nike)

Sneaker Anatomy

Understanding the sneaker means understanding not only how it is designed, but how it is made. Become familiar with how sneakers are created. Understanding the manufacturing details, ultimately will determine the quality of the finish sneaker. 

• 3M: A reflective material designed by the company of the same name which was initially used to help runners stay visible at night but has now become decorative.
• Aglet: The plastic or metal tips found on the laces of your sneakers. Usually customized by sneaker brands.
• Gum sole: Any light-brown sole. 
• Highs: Short for high-tops or hi-tops. Basically any sneaker that laces up above the ankle.
• Icy sole: Any transparent sole. Usually has a bluish tint and yellows with age due to oxidation.
• Lateral side: The side of the shoe on the outside of your foot where your little toe is. 
• Lows: Short for low-tops. Basically any sneaker that laces up below the ankle.
• Medial side: The side of the shoe on the inside of your foot where your big toe and arch is.
• Mids: Short for mid-tops. Basically any sneaker that’s in between a high-top and a low-top.
• Midsoles: The part of the sole that touches your feet. Where most sole technologies like Air or Boost are found and designed to be cushioned for maximum shock absorbency.
• Outsole: The part of the sole that is in contact with the ground. Made with durable rubbers and features a tread pattern for added grip.
• Upper: The part of the sneaker that wraps around the foot and is stitched onto the sole unit. Traditionally made with leather or fabric but in recent times can also be knitted.

Nike Specific Terms 

• 110s: London slang for the Nike Air Max 95 born from its original price tag of £110.
• ACG: All Conditions Gear was Nike’s outdoor-focused subsidiary line that launched in 1989 and was lauded for its bold-colorways. Now, the line is back after being revived by Errolson Hugh of Acronym. 
• AF1: Nike's Air Force 1 silhouette.
• Air Max: Tinker Hatfield took Nike’s revolutionary Air technology and made it visible birthing the Air Max line. Inspired by the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris which has it’s exhaust ducting exposed on the outside.
• COJP: An abbreviation of Concept Japan, Nike’s Japanese activation team.
• Deubré: The deubré or ‘dubray’ is the official name for the lace tag use on Nike shoes most commonly the Air Force 1.
• Doernbecher: Nike’s partnership with OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital which gives young patients the opportunity to design a Nike shoe from the ground up with profits generated benefitting the hospital.
• Frags: Any sneaker designed in collaboration with designer and musician Hiroshi Fujiwara’s fashion label Fragment Design.
• HTM: HTM denotes the first letters of the names Hiroshi Fujiwara, Tinker Hatfield, and Mark Parker –– the godfather of Japanese streetwear, legendary Air Jordan designer, and former CEO and Nike president respectively. Collectively, HTM is the Formula 1 of footwear design, with many of their innovations pioneered slowly trickling down to consumer level.
• Hyperstrike: The most limited of sneaker releases that drop without warning, sometimes just to friends and family.
• Infrared: A vibrant red colorway inspired by the luminescent paint seen on automobile dials that was first showcased on the Jordan VI as worn by Michael Jordan at the 1991 NBA All-Stars game. Now most commonly associated with the Air Max 90.
• Jumpman: The symbol of the Jordan brand that was first debuted on the Air Jordan III. Michael Jordan first did the ‘Jumpman’ pose for a 1984 Olympics photoshoot with LIFE magazine but was later recreated with Nike for the release of the Air Jordan I.
• Js: An abbreviated name for any Air Jordan sneaker.
• KD: A Nike shoe designed for basketball player Kevin Durant.  
• LBJ: A Nike shoe designed for basketball player Lebron James.
• NRG: Nike’s most exclusive and limited product lines e.g. the home of the Air Yeezy and the Galaxy Foamposite.
• NSW: Nike Sportswear is a line of products that reinvents Nike classics as lifestyle pieces. 
• Nike Lab: The destination for Nike’s leading innovations across physical retail, online commerce, and digital engagement. Produces limited editions of Nike’s latest performance and sport style innovations that express the intersection of sport, design, and culture. 
• Quickstrike: A sneaker drop that occurs without much prior warning and in very limited numbers. Usually reserved for Tier 0 accounts.
• Red Octobers: Slang for the all-red Air Yeezy II’s that were supposed to drop in October 2014.
• SB: Nike Skateboarding, the wildly popular skateboard-focused line that birthed the Dunk SB.
• TZ: An abbreviation of Tier 0, representing Nike’s top retail accounts that carry its most exclusive sneaker releases.
• Uptowns: New York slang for the Air Force 1 because of their popularity in the New York City.
• White on whites: American slang for the all-white Air Force 1 Low.

Adidas Specific Terms 

• 4D: Adidas’ 3D printed sole, made from a liquid that turns into a solid lattice-like structure. Designed using athlete data for maximum support and cushioning.
• Boost: Released in 2013, Boost is an innovative midsole technology that offers increased energy return and maximum cushioning while remaining durable and lightweight.
• Consortium: Adidas’ most creative range of footwear produced in collaboration with other brands, creatives, and retailers usually using premium materials. Another name for their Tier 0 retailers.
• EQT: Adidas Equipment is a line of functional essentials designed just for athletes.
• Originals: Adidas’ lifestyle range that focuses on reworking and re-releasing heritage products such as the Superstar or Gazelle.
• Parley: Collaborative product produced with environmental organization ‘Parley For The Oceans’ that uses recycled plastic in a bid to reduce plastic pollution in the ocean.
• Performance: Designed by Adidas to help athletes achieve the ‘impossible’. Represents the pinnacle of innovation in Adidas footwear across four main categories: running, basketball, football, and training.
• Spezial: Spezial is the brainchild of Three Stripes consultant Gary Aspden and is a love letter to Adidas archive pieces and its associated British subcultures. Known for one-off releases of retro Adidas sneakers.
• Ultraboost: Designed using NASA technology, the Ultraboost combined two
• Adidas technologies – a Boost sole and a Primeknit upper – with separate lace caging.
• Y-3: A collaboration between Adidas and Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto.
• Yeezy: A collaboration between Adidas and Kanye West.

Conclusion

Beyond the hype, bots, and long waiting lines, sneakers will continue to be a common point of interest for all walks of life. I hope you found this glossary to be useful. Try it out with your friends and start slinging random terms from the list.