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Guide

Darts Vocabulary : Complete glossary

Discover darts vocabulary and find answers to questions like "What do you call a dart player?" in our comprehensive guide.

Darts Vocabulary : Complete glossary

A

  • Aces: Hitting a double 1 during a 01 game.

  • Flight: The part of the dart that ensures its stability in flight, also called a "flight" in English.

  • Spider: The metal structure that divides the dartboard into segments.

  • Backboard: The protective panel placed behind a dartboard to protect the wall from missed darts.

  • Averager: A player who consistently scores high.

B

  • Baby Ton: Scoring 95 points in a single turn.

  • Back Hat: Hitting the double bullseye in a single turn.

  • Bag O’ Nuts: Scoring 45 points in a single turn.

  • Bail Out: Scoring a high triple with the third dart.

  • Bar: The metal wire that divides the dartboard into sections.

  • Barn Dart: The third dart hits the target after the first two have missed.

  • Barrel: The central part of the dart that the player holds. It can be made of brass, nickel, or tungsten.

  • Basement: Hitting the double 3.

  • Bed: Each section of a specific number on the dartboard.

  • Bed and Breakfast / Breakfast / Classic 26: Scoring 26 points by hitting a single 5, a single 20, and a single 1.

  • Birdie: A dart that hits the outer edge of the target.

  • Bombers: When a dart bounces.

  • Bouncer: A dart that bounces off the target.

  • Break: When a player wins a round on their opponent’s throw.

  • Bucket of Nails: Hitting 1s with all three darts in a single round.

  • Buckshot: Hitting almost every part of the dartboard in a single turn.

  • Bullseye: The center of the dartboard, divided into an outer ring (25 points) and a center (50 points).

  • Bull’s Eye or bullseye: Refers to the center of the dartboard.

  • Bust: Exceeding the number of points required to finish a round.

C

  • Champagne Breakfast: Hit the triple 5, triple 1, and triple 20.

  • Check Out: Hitting the exact number of points required to win the game.

  • Chucker: A player who throws darts without trying to aim.

  • Circle It: Score fewer than 10 points in a single turn.

  • Cork: The center of the target, also called the "Bullseye."

  • Cracked: Hitting a single while aiming for a double.

D

  • Darts: The English term for a dart or the "game of darts."

  • Devil: Hitting a triple 6 (666).

  • Dirty Darts: Using questionable tactics.

  • Double: The outer part of the numbered segments, which doubles the segment’s value when a dart lands there. Also used to end a round.

  • Double bull: Hitting the innermost part of the bullseye.

  • Double In: A rule where a player must start the round with a double.

  • Double Out: A rule where a player must end the leg with a double.

  • Double Top: The double 20, often used to finish a round.

  • Double Trouble: The difficulty of hitting a double to end a round.

  • Downstairs: The lower part of a dartboard.

E

  • Eights: A shorthand way of saying 18.

F

  • Feathers: The traditional dart flights made from natural feathers.

  • Finish: The score at which a player can end the current round.

  • Flat Line: In darts, missing all three darts.

  • Follow Through: The arm movement after releasing the dart; important for accuracy.

G

  • Game On: Start of the game.

  • Game Shot: A shot that ends the round and wins it.

  • Good Group: A compliment for a very accurate dart throw.

  • Grand Slam: Hitting the triple 20, triple 5, and triple 1.

H

  • Happy Meal: A score of 69 points in a single round.

  • Hat Trick: 3 darts in the outer bullseye.

  • High Ton: A score of 151 to 180 points in a single turn.

  • High Out: Finishing a game of 301 or 501 by scoring more than 100 points in a single round.

  • Hot: A term used to describe a player who is in top form and playing very well.

I

  • Island: The scoring area of the dartboard.

L

  • Leg: A game within a round. A player must win a certain number of legs to win a round.

  • Lipstick: Hitting a triple 20.

  • Lowton: A score of over 100 points in a single turn, in 301 or 501.

M

  • Madhouse: Double 1, as it is often difficult to hit and can prolong a leg indefinitely.

  • Mark Award: Scoring more than 5 marks in a given number in cricket.

  • Matador: Hitting the center of the bullseye.

  • Match: A set of legs that players must win to win the game.

  • Maximum: Scoring the highest possible score with three darts, usually 180 points.

  • Minus: Synonym for double 1 (or double ace).

N

  • No Score: No score is recorded when all darts thrown miss the target or bounce off.

O

  • Oche: The throwing line behind which players must stand to throw their darts.

P

  • Paddling: Placing one or both feet across a throw line.

  • Perfect: Finishing a 301 with 6 darts or a 501 with 9 darts.

  • Phoenix Eye: 3 darts in the inner bullseye.

  • Pie: The numbered area on the dartboard.

  • Tip: The pointed end of the dart that screws onto the shaft; it can be made of different materials (steel or nylon) depending on the application, the dartboard, or the player’s skill level.

R

  • Miss: A dart that hits the target without sticking.

  • Right There: Missing the intended spot.

  • Robin Hood: When a dart lands directly behind another dart already embedded in the target.

  • Round: A set of throws made by a player, usually three darts.

S

  • Shaft: The part of the dart that holds the flight. Made from various materials such as nylon, aluminum, or carbon.

  • Single: The inner part of the numbered segments, giving the single value of the segment when a dart lands there.

  • Small: The area between the center of the target and the triple.

  • Steady: Scoring 60 points in a single turn.

  • Straight In: A rule where a player can start the round without having to hit a double.

  • Sunset Strip: Scoring 77 points in a single round.

T

  • Three in a Bed: All three darts land in the same double or triple segment of the same number.

  • Throw Line: The line behind which players must stand to throw their darts, also called the "oche."

  • Ton 80: Scoring 180 points in a single turn, the maximum score with three darts.

  • Tops: Synonym for double 20.

  • Trombones: Scoring 76 points in a single turn.

  • Trophy Darts: A compliment for an accurate throw.

  • Two Dart Out: Finishing the round with only two darts.

  • Two Fat Ladies: Scoring 88 points in a single round.

U

  • Upstairs: The upper half of a dartboard.

V

  • Set: A set of 3 darts thrown in succession at a target.

W

  • Web: Term used to refer to the spider in the center of the dartboard.

  • Wet feet (or paddling): Being outside the throwing line.

  • White Horse: Hitting 3 different triples, especially in cricket.

  • White House: Hitting three untouched triples in cricket.

  • Wilson: Missing all three darts.

  • Wiring: A dart that bounces off a wire.

X

  • 180: The highest possible score (3 triples of 20).

Y

  • 170 Finish: Best possible finish (triple 20 + triple 20 + Bullseye).

Frequently Asked Questions

A darts player is called a "Darts player" in English and a "joueur de fléchettes" in French. You may also hear more fanciful names such as a "Dartiste" or a "Fléchiste".
Dart" is the singular and "Darts" the plural. The game of darts translates as "Darts" or "Game of Darts". The dartboard is called "Dartboard".
A "Leg" in darts corresponds to a round. It's an individual game in which players must reach exactly 0 points, starting from 301 or 501. A match is generally played to the best of several legs (for example, best of 5 legs means the first to 3 legs wins).
A Robin Hood dart shot occurs when a dart lands directly in the back (shaft or fin) of another dart already planted in the target. This spectacular shot earns no points, as the dart has not hit the target itself.
A Low Ton (or Lowton) in darts refers to a score between 100 and 150 points achieved in a single round of 3 darts. The word "Ton" comes from the English slang word for 100, so a Low Ton is a "small cent", as opposed to a High Ton (151-180 points).
A Hat Trick with darts consists of planting all 3 darts in the outer Bull (green ring worth 25 points) in a single round, for a total of 75 points. Not to be confused with the Phoenix Eye, which involves 3 darts in the inner Bull (50-point double bull).
A High Ton in darts is a score of between 151 and 180 points achieved in a single round of 3 darts. This is an excellent score that demonstrates great precision. The maximum possible is 180 (three 20-triples).
Checking out in darts means reaching exactly the number of points remaining to win the leg. As a standard rule (Double Out), the player must finish on a double. For example, if 32 points remain, the player must aim for double 16 to finish.
A High Out in darts is a finish (exit) of over 100 points achieved in a single round to win the leg. The highest possible finish is 170 (triple 20 + triple 20 + double bull). The most common High Outs are 120, 121, 127, 130, 131, 132, 136, 141, 144, 160 and 170.
A White Horse in darts, mainly in Cricket, involves scoring 3 different triples in a single round. For example, hit triple 20, triple 19 and triple 18 in the same volley. It's a highly effective shot that quickly closes several numbers.
The Bullseye is the center of the dartboard. It consists of two zones: the outer Bull (green ring, 25 points) and the inner Bull or Double Bull (central red circle, 50 points). The Double Bull counts as a double and can be used to complete a Double Out leg.
Straight Out is a darts rule where the player can finish the game on any segment (single, double or triple), unlike Double Out which requires finishing on a double. This rule is often used by beginners or in certain game variants.
Straight In is a rule where the player can start scoring from the first dart, without any special conditions. This is the opposite of "Double In", which requires the player to hit a double before scoring. Straight In is the standard rule in PDC competition.
A Nine Darter is a perfect darting leg: completing a 501 in just 9 darts, the theoretical minimum. The most common combination is: 180 + 180 + 141 (triple 20, triple 19, double 12). This is the ultimate feat, comparable to a 147 in snooker.
The darts finish is the score at which a player can theoretically conclude the leg in a single round. In Double Out, the maximum finish is 170 (T20-T20-D Bull). Any score of 170 or less (except 169, 168, 166, 165, 163, 162, 159) is considered a "possible finish".
The "Bed" in darts refers to each section of a number on the dartboard (single, double or triple). In Super Cricket, hitting a "Bed" means placing all 3 darts in the exact same area of a number (for example, 3 darts in triple 20). It's a feat that earns bonus points.
Ton 80 (or 180) is the maximum score achievable in a single round of darts: 3 darts in the triple 20 (3 x 60 = 180 points). The term "Ton" comes from the English slang for 100, so Ton 80 literally means "one hundred and eighty". This is the most famous dart shot.
A darts break occurs when one player gains a leg on his opponent's throw. As in tennis, the player who throws first has the advantage. Achieving a break is therefore a key moment in the match that can turn the momentum of the game on its head.