Beginner guide
Ultimate frisbee terms: a glossary for new players
Your first pickup game will involve people shouting words at you that sound like instructions. Most of them are. Here is what they mean and what they want you to do about it.
The five to learn before your first game
- Dump — throw it backwards to the nearest teammate. Do this whenever you are unsure.
- Up! — the disc is in the air. Look up.
- Stack — the line of players keeping the field clear. Stand in it.
- Clear — your cut did not work, jog out of the space.
- Force — which side the defence is pushing throws towards.
The full glossary
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Bid | An attempt at a catch or a block, usually a diving one. “Good bid” is a compliment even when you miss. |
| Brick | A pull that lands out of bounds. The receiving team may start from the brick mark, 20 yards in from the goal line, by calling “brick”. |
| Break | A throw that goes to the side the marker is trying to block. The hardest and most valuable throw in the game. |
| Callahan | Catching the opposing team’s pass in the end zone you are defending, which scores a point immediately. Rare, and celebrated accordingly. |
| Check | How play restarts after a stoppage — a defender touches the disc or the thrower taps it on the ground. |
| Clear | Moving out of the way after a cut that did not work, so the next cutter has space. |
| Cup | The group of defenders who surround the thrower in a zone defence. |
| Cut | A sharp run into space to receive the disc. Most of what a new player does. |
| D | A block. “He got a D” means he knocked the disc down. |
| Dish | A very short pass, usually to a teammate a couple of yards away. |
| Dump | A reset pass thrown backwards to a handler. The single most useful habit a beginner can build. |
| Flick | The forehand throw. Also called sidearm. How to throw one. |
| Force | The side of the field the marker is trying to push the thrower towards. “Force forehand” means block the backhand. |
| Greatest | A play where a player catches the disc after it has gone out of bounds and throws it back in before landing. Legal, spectacular, rare. |
| Hammer | An overhead throw released upside down. Useful over a defender, unpredictable in wind. |
| Handler | A player who stays behind the disc and throws most of the passes. More on positions. |
| Hospital pass | A high floaty throw that hangs long enough for several players to arrive underneath it at speed. Avoid throwing these. |
| Huck | A long throw downfield, usually more than half the field. |
| IO | Inside-out: a throw curving away from the marker on the inside. The opposite shape is an “around”. |
| Layout | A full-length dive for the disc. |
| Mark | The defender standing in front of the thrower counting the stall. |
| Pancake | Catching the disc by clapping two hands together above and below it. The most reliable catch there is. |
| Pick | Calling that an offensive player got in the way of a defender chasing someone else. Play stops and everyone resets. |
| Poach | Leaving your assigned player to cover space or go for an interception. |
| Pull | The throw that starts each point, like a kick-off. |
| Reset | Any pass that moves the disc backwards or sideways to restart the stall count safely. |
| Scoober | An upside-down throw released across the body at shoulder height. Looks impossible, is merely difficult. |
| Stack | The line of cutters that keeps the field clear so one person can cut at a time. |
| Stall | The ten-second count. “Stalling one, two…” |
| Swing | A pass across the field to change which side the disc is on. |
| Turn / Turnover | Losing possession. Happens constantly and matters less than you think. |
| Universe point | The last point of a tied game — win it and you win. |
| Up! | Shouted by the sideline when the disc is thrown, so defenders know to look up. |
| Zone | A defence where players cover areas of the field instead of individual opponents. Common in wind. |
Nobody will expect you to know these
Ultimate Together is a new beginner-friendly pickup group forming in the Howell–Brighton area of Livingston County, Michigan, with first adult co-ed games planned for May 2027. We plan to introduce the basics at every session — including the vocabulary — so nobody has to nod along.
Vocabulary questions
What is a huck in ultimate frisbee?
A long throw downfield, usually travelling more than half the length of the field. Hucking is high risk and high reward, and it is the throw beginners most want to try and should most often resist.
What does “up” mean in ultimate?
It is shouted by teammates on the sideline the instant the disc leaves a thrower’s hand, so that defenders who are watching their opponent know to turn and look for the disc.
What is a Callahan?
Intercepting the other team’s pass while standing in the end zone you are defending, which scores a point immediately. It is named after Henry Callahan and it is one of the rarest plays in the sport.
Why do people shout “pick”?
Because an offensive player got in the way of a defender chasing someone else. It stops play and resets positions. It is a routine call, not an accusation.