Glossary of graffiti

A number of words and phrases that have come to describe different styles and aspects of graffiti and its subculture.

Like other jargon and colloquialisms, some of these terms may vary regionally, taking on different meanings across different cities and countries.

The following terminology originates primarily in the United States.

Acquiring supplies through various forms of fraud can also be referred to as "racking" in some circles, though this use is far less common, as is likewise the use of fraud as a means to acquire writing supplies (largely reserved only for items that cannot be conveniently shoplifted, such as those in locked cages or behind display counters).

Back before camera-phones/smartphones and the proliferation of social media websites, watching to see whether your work gets left alone used to be the only feedback from strangers you had to go off of.

Graffiti on the Berlin Wall in 1986
Illegal pieces usually painted in places that are hard to control.
An example of a graffiti character by KEOB. The character is seen in a tag (in the O), a throw-up, single drawing in a drain, and sticker.
The MTA crew blockbuster in the Los Angeles River
Etching-Tags in Chicago.
Fire extinguisher tag.
Highway sign graffiti, or a 'Heaven' in San Francisco c. 1997.
Graffiti shop is equipped with anti-theft system . Tver City , Russia .
Scratching on Berlin subway windows.
Graffiti sticker in St Ives, Cornwall .
A graffiti tag.
1998 photo in San Francisco of a Red throw-up 'topping' a Josh straight letter.
Autorack wholecar.
Wildstyle on a truck in Paris .
Window Down.
Example of woodblock.