Show all 199 words (188 more)
Snow and Ice Sports
Alpine Skiing
Nordic Skiing and Biathlon
Snowboard and Freestyle
Figure and Speed Skating
Curling
Bobsled, Luge and Sledding
Gear and Safety
Snow and Ice Sports, continued
Mushing Driving a team of dogs that pulls a sled over snow. Ringette A Canadian team game on skates, created in 1963, played with a straight stick and a rubber ring. Skeleton A sled ridden face down and head first. It may be named for an early frame that looked like ribs. Ski jumping Flying off the end of a steep ramp, with points for both distance and style. Skiing Gliding over snow on two long runners. The oldest wooden ones found are at least 7,000 years old. Skijoring A person on skis is pulled along by a horse or a dog. The name is Norwegian for ski driving. Sledding Sliding down a snowy hill on runners, a plastic disc or even a cafeteria tray. Snow tubing Sliding down a snowy hill while sitting on an inflated inner tube. Snowboarding Riding down a slope with both feet on one wide board. It took shape in the United States in 1965. Snowmobiling Riding a motor sled that steers with skis in front and drives with a track at the rear. Snowshoeing Hiking over deep snow in wide footwear that keeps you from sinking in. Speed skating Racing on ice blades around an oval. The long track measures 400 meters a lap. Tobogganing Riding a long sled with no runners and a curled-up front down a snowy hill.
Alpine Skiing 28
Backcountry Terrain outside a resort's boundaries, with no patrol, no grooming and no lifts. Black diamond The North American trail sign for a difficult run, usually steeper than a 40 percent grade. Blue square The North American trail sign for an intermediate run. Bunny slope A wide, nearly flat, groomed area where beginners take lessons. Carve To turn by tipping skis or a board onto their edges so they bend into a clean arc. Chairlift Seats hanging from a moving cable. The first ones ran in Idaho in 1936. Conveyor lift A moving belt at snow level that carries beginners up a gentle hill. Corduroy The ridged pattern a grooming machine leaves on a run, prized as a surface to ski on. Downhill The fastest alpine race. Speeds of about 80 miles an hour are common. Fall line The most direct way down a slope: the path a ball would roll. Gate A marker that ski racers must pass through. A super-G course sets them wide apart. Glade An area of trees to ski through, with logs, stumps and other natural hazards. Gondola An enclosed cabin that hangs from a moving cable and carries riders up the mountain. Green circle The North American trail sign for a beginner run. Hardpack Snow pressed dense by grooming and traffic, with no fresh snowfall on top. Lift ticket The pass that shows a skier has paid to ride up the hill. Lodge The building at the base of a ski hill, with food, restrooms and lockers. Mogul A bump of snow that builds up where skiers keep making sharp turns. Piste A marked ski run. The word is French for trail. Rope tow A moving loop that riders grab with their hands to be pulled up a short hill. Schuss A fast, straight run down the hill with no turns, from the German for shot. Ski patrol The crew that gives first aid and rescues injured skiers on the mountain. Slalom A ski race of quick, short turns. Its gates stand closer together than in any other event. Snowcat A tracked vehicle with a cab that pulls grooming gear over ski runs. Snowmaking Snow guns spray water and compressed air that freeze into a white cover for the slope. Trail map The sheet that shows a resort's lifts, runs and services. Tuck The low crouch a racer holds to cut drag and gain speed. Wedge The first turn beginners learn, with ski tips together and tails wide apart.
Nordic Skiing and Biathlon 23
Biathlete An athlete who races on skis and stops to shoot. Classic The striding style of cross-country skiing, often done in a pair of parallel grooves. Double pole To push with both arms at once, used for speed on flats and gentle downhills. Grip wax Rubbed under the foot of a classic ski, it grabs the snow so the skier can push off. Herringbone Climbing a hill on skis with the tips spread in a V, named for the pattern it leaves. Inrun The steep ramp a ski jumper slides down to build speed. K point The line across a landing hill used to work out a ski jumper's distance points. Klister A sticky wax for grip on coarse spring snow, patented in 1913. Marksmanship Skill at shooting accurately, one of the two things biathlon tests. Mass start A race in which every skier sets off at the same moment. Nordic combined Ski jumping and a cross-country race in one event. The best jumper starts the race first. Penalty loop The extra 150-meter lap a biathlete skis for each missed shot. Prone Lying flat to shoot. From this position a biathlon target is just 45 millimeters wide. Pursuit A race in which start times are spaced by the results of an earlier race. Rifle What a biathlete aims at the five targets. Roller skis Short training gear with a wheel at each end, for pavement when there is no snow. Skate skiing The cross-country style that pushes each ski out at an angle, much like ice skating. Standing The upright biathlon shooting position, with a target 115 millimeters wide. Stride The basic classic step: one ski glides forward as the pole on the other side plants. Takeoff The short, straight end of the ramp, where a ski jumper leaves the ground. Target A biathlete aims at five of these from 50 meters. A white flap covers each one that is hit. Telemark A landing with one ski ahead of the other, named for a region of Norway. Tracks The pair of parallel grooves cut into a groomed trail for classic skiers.
Snowboard and Freestyle 27
Aerials Skiers launch off a steep kicker and do twists and flips before landing on a slope. Amplitude How high a rider flies. It is one of the things slopestyle judges score. Berm A banked wall of snow on a turn of a cross course. Big air One very large jump and, in most contests, one chance to land a trick. Box A park feature like a rail but wider, with a slick plastic top. Freestyle Skiing for tricks and style rather than speed alone: aerials, moguls, halfpipe and more. Goofy The stance with the right foot forward. Grab A trick in which a rider holds the board or a ski in midair. Halfpipe A U-shaped channel of snow with two curved walls that riders launch out of to do tricks. Heel edge The side of a snowboard under the back of the rider's feet. Jib To ride a board or skis across something that is not snow, such as a log or a metal bar. Kicker The steep ramp that throws an aerial skier into the air. Landing The slope where a jumper comes back down. Nose The front tip of a snowboard. Rail A metal bar in a terrain park that riders slide along. Regular The stance with the left foot forward. Roller A rounded hump of snow on a cross course. Ski cross Four skiers race at once over jumps and banked turns. The first two move on. Slopestyle A run through a course of rails and jumps. Tricks come as spins, grinds, grabs and flips. Snowboard cross Four to six riders race at once down a course of banked turns, rollers and jumps. Stance Which foot a rider puts forward on the board. Superpipe A giant U-shaped snow channel with walls 22 feet high. Switch Riding with the opposite foot forward from your normal stance. Tail The back end of a snowboard or a ski. Terrain park The part of a resort built for tricks, with jumps, rails and a halfpipe. Toe edge The side of a snowboard under the front of the rider's feet. Twist A turn of the body around its long axis in the air, often paired with a flip in aerials.
Figure and Speed Skating 29
Axel The oldest jump and the only one with a forward takeoff, named for a Norwegian skater. Blade The metal runner under a skate boot. Camel A spin on one leg with the body and free leg stretched level with the ice, like an arabesque. Choreography The planned pattern of steps and moves in a routine. Clap skate A racing boot with its blade hinged at the front, so the steel stays on the ice longer. Crossover Stepping one foot over the other on a curve to gain speed. Flip The skater glides backward on an inside edge, jabs the other toe into the ice and leaps. Footwork Steps and turns linked in a pattern across the ice, a required part of a program. Free skate The second and longer segment of a competition. Ice dance A discipline for skating couples that grew out of ballroom dancing. Judges The panel that scores each jump, spin and step. Kiss and cry The rinkside area where skaters sit and wait for their marks. Layback An upright spin with the head and upper body arched backward to face the ceiling. Lift A move in which one partner raises the other off the ice. Lutz A toe-pick jump from a back outside edge, named for an Austrian skater. Oval The shape of a speed skating track. Pairs Two partners skating as one, with lifts, throw jumps and twists. Program The routine a skater performs to music. A contest has a short one and a free one. Quad A jump with four full turns in the air. Resurfacer The machine that lays down smooth new ice. The first was built in California in 1949. Rink A sheet of ice, natural or man-made, for skating and ice games. Salchow An edge jump from a back inside edge, named in 1909 for the Swede who invented it. Short track Pack racing around a 111-meter oval laid out on a rink the size of a hockey rink. Spin Turning fast on one spot. The three basic positions are upright, sit and camel. Spiral A long glide on one foot with the free leg held above hip level. Synchronized The kind of skating in which 8 to 20 people move as one team. Toe loop The easiest of the jumps, six in all, invented in the 1920s. Toe pick The jagged teeth at the front of a figure skate blade. Twizzle A fast one-foot turn of several rotations that travels across the ice.
Curling 26
Bonspiel A curling tournament. Broom The brush a curler scrubs the ice with ahead of a moving stone. Burn To touch a moving stone by accident. Button The small circle at the very center of the curling target. Curl The curved path of a stone, caused by the turn put on it at release. Delivery The act of sliding out and releasing a curling stone. Draw A shot that comes to rest in play without knocking another stone out. End One round of curling: each team throws eight stones. A game usually has 8 or 10. Granite The rock curling stones are made of, quarried on a Scottish island and in Wales. Gripper The shoe sole that gives a curler traction on the ice. Guard A stone left out front to shield another from the other team's shots. Hack The rubber-lined foothold a curler pushes off from. Hammer The last stone of an end, a big advantage for the team that holds it. Hog line A curler must let go of the stone before it reaches this mark on the ice. House The ringed target at each end of a curling sheet. Lead The curler who delivers a team's first two stones of each end. Pebble Water droplets sprayed on curling ice, which freeze into bumps like orange peel. Rings The 4-foot, 8-foot and 12-foot circles painted around the button. Rock The everyday name curlers use for the granite they throw. Sheet The strip of ice a curling game is played on, about 150 feet long. Skip The team captain in curling, who calls the shots and holds a broom as the target. Slider The slick sole on the shoe a curler glides on. Stone The 38 to 44 pound piece of polished granite that a curler slides down the ice. Sweep Scrubbing the ice ahead of a moving stone with a broom, so it travels farther and straighter. Takeout A shot that hits another stone and removes it from play. Tee line It runs across the middle of the house and passes through the button.
Bobsled, Luge and Sledding 18
Aerodynamic Shaped to slip through the air, like the body of a racing bobsled. Banked Tilted up at the outside, like the curves of a sliding track. Brakeman The last rider in a bobsled, who pulls the brake lever after the finish line. Crew The two or four athletes who ride a bobsled together. Doubles The luge event with two riders on one sled. Feet first How a luge rider goes down the track, lying face up. Gravity The only engine a bobsled has once the crew is aboard. Handles A luge rider grips these at the start ramp and pulls to launch. Headfirst How a skeleton racer goes down the track, lying face down. Monobob A bobsled built for a single rider. Pilot The front rider, who steers a bobsled by pulling on two rings. Push start The running shove that gets a bobsled up to speed before the crew jumps in. Pusher One of the two middle riders in a four-person bobsled, chosen for speed and strength. Runners The steel blades a sled rides on. Sleigh Another word for a sled. The British spelling of bobsled ends with it. Steer A luge rider does this by pressing a calf on a runner or a shoulder into the sled. Thousandth Luge is timed to this tiny fraction of a second. Toboggan A simple sled with no runners; its bottom rides right on the snow. The word is Algonquian.
Gear and Safety 24
Base layer Clothing worn next to the skin, made to draw sweat away and keep you dry. Basket The round piece near the tip of a ski pole that keeps it from sinking into the snow. Beacon A small radio that backcountry skiers wear so rescuers can find them after an avalanche. Bindings They hold a boot to a ski and let go in a hard fall to prevent injury. Boots Stiff footwear that locks into bindings and passes each leg movement on to the ski. Camber The slight upward arch in the middle of a ski, added by makers in Norway around 1850. Edge The sharp metal strip along each side of a ski or board, which bites into the snow. Goggles Eye protection from glare and blowing snow. Inuit carvers made early ones with a narrow slit. Harness The straps that link a sled dog to the line it pulls. Helmet Head protection that most skiers and snowboarders now wear. It was rare before about 2000. Mouthguard A cover worn over the teeth and gums to protect them from a blow. Poles Light sticks held one in each hand for balance and pushing. Puck A black disc of vulcanized rubber, 3 inches across and 1 inch thick. Shell The outer jacket or pants, which block wind and water. Sidecut The inward curve along the side of a ski or board. A deeper one makes sharper turns. Skates Boots with metal blades. The first ones were made from the leg bones of animals. Skins Fabric strips stuck under skis so they slide forward but not back on a climb. Skis Runners worn in pairs for gliding on snow. The name comes from Old Norse for a stick of wood. Sled A small vehicle that slides over snow on runners or a smooth underside. Snowshoes Wide frames strapped to the feet that spread your weight over deep snow. Snowsuit A warm outfit worn over clothes to keep out snow and wind, often by children. Stick A long shaft with a flat, slightly curved blade, used to pass and shoot in ice hockey. Waterproof Able to keep rain and melting snow out. Wax Applied to the base of a ski or board: one kind adds glide, another adds grip.
How this list was compiled: 199 winter sports words chosen and defined for this site, in eight themed lists (snow and ice sports; alpine skiing; Nordic skiing and biathlon; snowboard and freestyle; figure and speed skating; curling; bobsled, luge and sledding; gear and safety) plus three cross-cutting lists: the 24 single-word favorites that open the page, 44 short words of 3 to 5 letters and the 27 long words of 9 to 12 letters. 43 entries are two or three words (Ice hockey, Figure skating, Speed skating, Ski jumping, Ice climbing, Ice fishing, Snow tubing, Fall line, Rope tow, Conveyor lift, Ski patrol, Bunny slope, Black diamond, Green circle, Blue square, Trail map, Lift ticket, Nordic combined, Skate skiing, Double pole, Grip wax, Roller skis, Penalty loop, K point, Mass start, Big air, Snowboard cross, Ski cross, Toe edge, Heel edge, Terrain park, Short track, Ice dance, Toe loop, Toe pick, Clap skate, Free skate, Kiss and cry, Hog line, Tee line, Push start, Feet first, Base layer); the grid hides each as one run of letters and the list shows it as typed. Inside any one list no word contains another, forwards or backwards, which is why Curl sits in the curling list while Curling sits with the sports, Sled sits with the gear away from Bobsled and Sledding, and Edge stays out of the short-word list that holds Wedge. No clue contains its own word, because the clue replaces the word in clue mode. Rifle, Prone and Goofy are left out of the short-word list for the youngest pupils, where they would appear without the biathlon and snowboard words around them. There is no separate ice hockey list: Ice hockey, Puck, Stick and Rink are the only hockey words, so the page stays on snow and ice sports as a whole. The words are generic names of sports, moves, places and equipment: no league, team, club, event, athlete, product or brand name is included, the jumps named for skaters of a century ago (Axel, Lutz, Salchow) being the everyday names of the jumps themselves, and the ice resurfacer, the snowboard race (Snowboard cross) and the beginners' belt lift (Conveyor lift) go by their generic names, because the better-known names began as trade names. No clue names a resort or a material by its trade name. Figures that change with a rule book by season or level of play were left out; the figures kept are the ones the cited articles give as the standard form of each sport. Definitions are our own wording; on 2026-09-20 the two clues that ran close to a cited article (Flip, Snowmaking) were rewritten, two entries were renamed, and the goalie words Pads and Mask were taken out. Facts were checked on 2026-09-19 against these English Wikipedia articles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_sports , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandy , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringette , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broomball , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skijoring , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushing , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sled_dog_racing , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowmobile , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_climbing , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_fishing , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceboat , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tubing_(recreation) , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowshoe , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hockey , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hockey_puck , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hockey_stick , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goaltender , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curling , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_curling , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_(curling) , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobsleigh , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luge , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeleton_(sport) , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sled , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toboggan , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sledding , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpine_skiing , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slalom_skiing , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super-G , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downhill_(ski_competition) , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piste , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mogul_skiing , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schuss , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowplough_turn , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carved_turn , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_line_(topography) , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chairlift , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondola_lift , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_lift , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_grooming , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski_patrol , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski_resort , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowmaking , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_skiing_and_snowboarding_terms , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-country_skiing , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biathlon , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_combined , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski_jumping , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski_jumping_hill , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Construction_point , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telemark_landing , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telemark_skiing , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski_wax , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roller_skiing , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowboarding , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowboard , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-pipe , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superpipe , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slopestyle , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_air , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_skiing , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freestyle_skiing , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowboard_cross , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski_cross , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrain_park , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footedness , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_skating , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axel_jump , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutz_jump , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salchow_jump , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toe_loop_jump , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_jump , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_skating_spins , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel_spin , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layback_spin , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twizzle , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral_(figure_skating) , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Step_sequence , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pair_skating , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_dance , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_skating , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_program_(figure_skating) , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_and_cry , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_figure_skating_terms , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_skate , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_skate , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_rink , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_resurfacer , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchronized_skating , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_skating , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short-track_speed_skating , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clap_skate , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski_pole , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski_binding , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski_boot , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski_helmet , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goggles , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouthguard , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layered_clothing , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski_suit , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalanche_transceiver . Spellings follow those articles, and 63 of the less common ones (among them Skijoring, Ringette, Bonspiel, Klister, Twizzle, Salchow, Monobob, Superpipe, Slopestyle, Hardpack, Sidecut and Snowcat) were also confirmed as entries on https://en.wiktionary.org/ on 2026-09-19. Licence: own work