Glossary

This glossary is used to define any abbreviations, nomenclature and terminologies used on Robot Wars, and in the wider robot combat community. For pages based on terminologies, see Category:Terminology.


 * Activate - The word used to start battles.
 * Arena - An enclosed area complete with hazards, used to stage a wide variety of main and side competitions.
 * Armament - A malapropism used by commentator Jonathan Pearce to describe the armour of a robot, despite armament meaning "weapon".
 * Cease - The word used to end or pause battles.
 * Classic series - Series 1-7, Extreme 1-2, All international episodes. A term to refer to the first runs of Robot Wars. Also referred to as the original run or original series.
 * Clusterbot - A robot which consists of two or more machines entered together as one.
 * CO2 - Chemical formula for carbon dioxide, a gas commonly used in pneumatic systems.
 * CPZ - Acronym standing for "Corner Patrol Zone", an Arena hazard from Series 1 and Series 3 onwards, which is patrolled by the House Robots.
 * Death hum - Term used in the reboot to describe the sounds made by a heavy rotating weapon as it spins up to full speed, ranging from high-pitched whirring to low-pitched 'humming'. Often associated with the sounds made by Carbide's bar spinner.
 * Ground Clearances - A term used to describe the proximity of a robot's wedge to the floor. The robot with the lower ground clearance will be able to drive under the opposing robot.
 * Grudge Match - Term used to refer to battles intending to settle a grudge between two or more competitors.
 * Gyro-dance - Term used to describe a robot lifting itself onto one side through the gyroscopic forces of a vertical rotating weapon. Said motion gives the impression of the robot 'dancing' along the arena floor, hence the name. Common among robots armed with vertical flywheels or drums.
 * Hardox - Officially written as HARDOX, a form of wear-resistant steel used for armour, chassis and weapons. A similar but separate metal known as ARMOX is also used by modern competitors.
 * House Robot - A robot built specifically to patrol a CPZ/PPZ and act as a hazard to competitors, or to facilitate fair play in the arena.
 * HDPE - short for high-density polyeuruthene, a form of plastic used in modern competitors.
 * Invertible - Term used to describe a robot which can run both ways up - for more information, see Invertible Robots.
 * Judges' decision - Situation where under certain circumstances - e.g. two or more robots lasting the full duration - the Judges determine the winner by scoring the surviving robots on Control, Aggression, Damage and (formerly) Style.
 * KO - Acronym standing for Knockout, used to refer to an opponent becoming immobilised, pitted or thrown out of the arena.
 * Link - A common component in every robot which is used to safely deactivate them when they are not in the Arena. Often known as removable links, safety links or failsafes.
 * LiPo - Abbreviation of lithium polymer, a type of battery commonly used in the rebooted series.
 * OotA - Acronym standing for "Out of the Arena", where a robot is Thrown Out of the Arena by another.
 * Pit reporter - a co-presenter who interviews teams within The Pits, including Philippa Forrester, Julia Reed and Jayne Middlemiss.
 * PPZ - Acronym standing for "Perimeter Patrol Zone", an Arena hazard used in Series 2, which is patrolled by the House Robots.
 * Reboot - Series 8, 9 and 10, including Battle of the Stars and World Series. A term to refer to the second run of Robot Wars.
 * Roboteers - Term used to describe any individuals or teams who appear on the show as competitors.
 * Shufflebot - A robot which is designed to use a cam-driven 'shuffling' mechanism as its sole means of locomotion.
 * Spinner killer - Phrase used to describe robots with features designed to withstand opponents armed with Heavy rotating weapons, such as angled HARDOX/ARMOX wedges.
 * Srimech - Abbreviation standing for Self-righting mechanism, a device which allows a robot to flip or lift itself back onto its wheels after being overturned.
 * The Pits - The backstage area of the Robot Wars Arena, where robots are repaired by their teams.
 * Walkerbot - A robot which is designed to use legs and/or feet as its sole means of locomotion.
 * Wedgelet - Term used for a smaller fork or wedge-shaped attachment, typically added to the front of the robot in order to breach ground clearances. It is common for two or more wedgelets to be used, usually in tandem with a larger wedge or a vertical spinner.