Glossary

This page is a dictionary of common Geometry Dash terminology used by its online community. The purpose is to help players understand the jargon typically used by players.

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asymmetrical dual

/ˌeɪsəˈmɛtrɪkəl ˈduəl/

1. noun — a section in Dual mode in which the two icons have distinct gameplay.

   'Adding jump indicators to an asymmetrical dual lowered its learning curve.'

auto

/ˈɔːtoʊ/

1. adjective — (of a level or section of gameplay) automatically completed; requires no input to complete.

   'Most auto transitions are marked with text objects.'

2. noun — a user-made level typically requiring no player input to complete.

   'Geass's Easy rating was re-classified as Auto in Update 1.6.'

bot

/bɑt/

1. noun — an external tool or modification that automatically performs and/or records inputs, commonly used to create showcases, test gameplay, or cheat.

   'I downloaded a bot to track my inputs and replay them for a showcase.'

2. verb — to play or record a level using an external tool or modification that automatically plays a level.

   'The level was botted past 42%, as evidenced by a cut in the recording.'

3. noun — short form of Robot, a game-mode.

   'Goober Rage Stage tests your bot handling skills.'

buff

/bʌf/

1. noun — an edit made to a level that makes it harder.

   'The level received a buff that made several of its previous sections more difficult.'

2. verb — the act of editing a level to make it harder.

   'At the host's request, the chokepoint was buffed further.'

buffer

/ˈbʌfər/

1. noun — a held input made before it can take effect and is registered in the frame that the game permits it.

   'If you're struggling with landing on the jump pad, try to avoid buffers.'

2. verb — to perform and hold an input while in mid-air that can only take place after landing.

   'Buffer the first orb to reach the coin.'

chokepoint

/ˈtʃoʊkˌpɔɪnt/
alt: choke point

1. noun — a specific point or section in a level considered exceptionally easy to fail at; usually more difficult than the remainder of the level.

   'I've only passed that chokepoint once, and then crashed immediately afterward!'

click sync

/ˈklɪk ˌsɪŋk/

1. noun — synchronisation between required player inputs and elements of a level's music, such as its rhythm, beats, or melody.

   'JamAttack uses click sync so that most inputs coincide with prominent beats in the song.'

crash trigger

/ˈkræʃ ˌtrɪɡər/

1. noun — a malformed trigger setup engineered to crash the game when activated.

   'It appeared as though I'd found a secret way, but the level activated a crash trigger at 99%.'

derated

/ˌdiːˈreɪtɪd/
alt: de-rated

1. adjective — (of a level) stripped of its awarded status.

   'Derated levels are usually deleted from the servers.'

2. verb — (past participle) to revoke a user level's rated status.

   'The developer elected to derate all levels that were found to contain stolen assets.'

difficulty spike

/ˈdɪfɪkəlti ˌspaɪk/

1. noun — a sudden and unprecedented increase in difficulty. May be between levels in a series or parts in a single level.

   'A massive difficulty spike at 70%? What could go wrong?'

first victor

/ˌfɝst ˈvɪktər/

1. noun — (of a level) the first player, other than its verifier, to legitimately complete a level.

   'Zoink became the first victor of Society on 13 July 2026.'

flow gameplay

/floʊ ˈɡeɪmpleɪ/

1. noun — a gameplay style that involves brief sections, rapid game-mode switching, high speeds, and learny gameplay. Commonplace in Demon levels.

   'Kyouki has flow gameplay, which makes it difficult to sight-read.'

frame alignment

/ˈfreɪm əˌlaɪnmənt/

1. noun — the player's temporal position relative to the game's frames or physics steps, which can affect which frames are available for performing an input.

   'Entering the Robot portal with a different frame alignment can make the following timing impossible.'

frame-perfect

/ˌfreɪm ˈpɝfɪkt/
alt: frame perfect

1. adjective — (of an input) requiring execution within a single-frame window to be performed successfully.

   'OniLink's frame-perfect clicks halted her progress.'

2. noun — an input requiring execution within a single-frame window to be performed successfully; shortened form of 'frame-perfect input'.

   'Six consecutive frame-perfects at 240 FPS are required to beat the level.'

full solo

/fʊl ˈsoʊloʊ/

1. noun — a level fully created, verified, and published by a single player.

   'Your contest entry must be a full solo; collaborations are not allowed.'

icon

/ˈaɪkɑn/

1. noun — the player character in a level, or one of its customisable appearances corresponding to a particular game-mode.

   'The three mainline Demon levels each reward an icon for collecting all three of their secret coins.'

jump

/dʒʌmp/

1. noun — an upward movement performed by a Cube or Robot.

   'You only have a few frames to clear the triple-spike jump.'

2. verb — to cause an applicable game-mode to temporarily move upward by pressing an input.

   'The player must jump immediately after landing on the platform.'

3. noun — a single obstacle or sequence requiring a temporary upward movement.

   'The final jump is a common chokepoint in Bloodbath.'

4. noun — a progression from one level to another of significantly greater difficulty.

   'Going from an Easy Demon to an Extreme Demon is a considerable jump in difficulty.'

5. verb — to progress directly from one level to another of significantly greater difficulty, usually without completing levels of intermediate difficulty.

   'She jumped from Acu to Acheron in four months.'

6. verb — synonym of difficulty spike.

   'The coin's difficulty jumps from Insane to Medium Demon.'

jumpscare

/ˈdʒʌmpˌskɛr/

1. noun — a sudden and unexpected appearance or recreation of a recognisable gameplay section from another level, typically used as a joke or reference.

   'A poster in GD GANGSTER RAP contains the Dash Spider jumpscare.'

Levelution

/ˌlɛvəˈluːʃən/
alt: #Levelution

1. proper noun — a level-creation movement started by Optical in 2018 that advocated simpler, less object-intensive levels in response to increasingly high decoration and rate standards.

   'Danzmen was opposed to #Levelution on the grounds that a dedicated minimalist movement was unnecessary.'

minigame

/ˈmɪniˌɡeɪm/
alt: mini-game

1. noun — a level in which the gameplay does not use the normal game-modes and instead uses triggers to simulate an entirely different game experience.

   'Incidius won two of three awards for Best Minigame.'

mixed dual

/ˌmɪkst ˈduəl/

1. noun — an asymmetrical dual section that uses two separate game-modes.

   'The mixed dual section disrupted the level's balancing.'

muscle memory

/ˈmʌsəl ˌmɛməri/

1. noun — unconscious memorisation and retention of gameplay via many repeated attempts.

   'Muscle memory is required to consistently clear frame-perfects.'

nerf

/nɝf/

1. noun — an edit made to a level that makes it easier.

   'The level received a significant nerf following community backlash.'

2. verb — the act of editing a level to make it easier.

   'The level was nerfed to the point that it could no longer be consider an Insane Demon.'

NoNG

acronym, /sɒŋ/

1. noun — abbreviation of 'Not on Newgrounds', referring to a music track that cannot be selected for use in Geometry Dash. Excluding the Music Library, it must be downloaded and implemented using external means or tools.

   'A level with a NoNG is significantly less likely to be rated.'

open verification

/ˌoʊpən ˌvɛrəfəˈkeɪʃən/

1. noun — a level lacking an assigned verifier which anyone may attempt to verify.

   'When the verifier's progress came to a halt, the host elected to make the level an open verification.'

pause-buffer

/ˈpɔːz ˌbʌfə/
alt: pause buffer

1. noun — a method of rapidly pausing and unpausing the game to allow inputs to be timed on a nearly frame-by-frame basis. Often banned in top play as of Update 2.2.

   'As of February 2024, the Demonlist banned the use of pause-buffering to time inputs.'

2. verb — rapidly pausing and unpausing the game to allow inputs to be timed on a nearly frame-by-frame basis.

   'Players can pause-buffer difficult inputs to execute them more precisely.'

playtester

/ˈpleɪˌtɛstər/

1. noun — a confidant who is given a copy of an unreleased level to check for bugs and suggest changes.

   'Soliciting a playtester will significantly improve your level's reception.'

rate-worthy

/ˈreɪtˌwɝði/

1. adjective — an unrated user level that is considered to meet the general quality standards required to receive a 'rate' from the game's developer, Robert Topala. Such levels typically have suitable gameplay, clean decoration, and polish.

   'This level I found in the magic tab is surprisingly rate-worthy.'

Rattledash

/ˈrætəlˌdæʃ/

1. proper noun — a colloquial name coined by Colon for pixel art object 1276, which depicts a skeleton sitting.

   'It is impossible to complete The Cellar without blowing up Rattledash.'

roomslop

/ˈruːmˌslɑp/

1. noun — a Platformer level characterised by a large number of single-screen rooms.

   'How to platformer started the trend of roomslop levels.'

ship corridor

/ˈʃɪp ˌkɔrədɔr/

1. noun — a passage in a Ship section through which a player must fly without colliding with its upper or lower boundaries. Typically a narrow passage lined with spikes.

   'Straight-fly skills are required to pass the ship corridor at the start of the drop.'

showcase

/ˈʃoʊkeɪs/

1. noun — a recording of a level intended to demonstrate its gameplay, decoration, or other features, without necessarily representing a legitimate completion.

   'Nexus was criticised for frequently uploading showcases of new List Demons.'

2. verb — to record or display a level for the purpose of demonstrating its gameplay, decoration, or other features.

   'The final preview of the level was a full showcase.'

slope boosting

/ˈsloʊp ˌbuːstɪŋ/

1. noun — a technique in Platformer mode, in which the player gains additional speed with timed jumps while moving upward along a steep slope.

   'The highest slope-boost climb is believed to be 116 blocks high.'

2. verb — the act of precisely timing a directional change and a jump the exact moment a player hits a slope in Platformer Mode to gain a sudden burst of speed or height.

   'Slope boosting is required to complete Speedtek.'

spawn loop

/ˈspɔːn ˌluːp/

1. noun — a repeated trigger setup in which Spawn Triggers repeatedly activate one another, allowing a sequence of triggers to loop infinitely.

   'By clicking the 'Create Loop' button, creators will automatically generate an empty, two-step spawn loop.'

SPWN

/ˈspɔːn/

1. proper noun — an abstracted programming language created by Spu7Nix that compiles text-based code to create triggers directly in Geometry Dash levels.

   'Brainfugd was near-universally created using SPWN.'

swag route

/ˈswæɡ ˌruːt/; /ˈswæɡ ˌraʊt/

1. noun — an unintended, typically harder alternative route through part of a level.

   'SiKky frequently shouts 'Swag route let's gooooo!' when he finds a hidden route.'

XXL

initialism, /ˌɛks ˌɛks ˈɛl/
alt: extra-extra-long

1. adjective — (of a level, typically Classic mode) longer than five minutes in length.

   'JonathanGD is well-known for his XXL Demon levels.'