Bowling Terms Glossary: Turkey, Split, Spare and More

Last updated October 7, 2026 · BowlingCalc

Bowling has a small set of essential scoring words and a much larger vocabulary for deliveries, equipment and pin leaves. Start with the terms that describe what happened on your own scorecard.

This alphabetical glossary describes standard ten-pin usage. Some nicknames vary between leagues and regions; the official score comes from the deliveries, not the nickname. Use the score calculator alongside the glossary to connect X, /, F and a miss with their actual effect on a game.

Bowling terms from A to W

Anchor

The final bowler in a team’s lineup. The position has no special scoring rule.

Approach

The area before the foul line where you take your steps. The word also describes the movement into your delivery.

Arrows

Lane target marks used to aim a delivery. They offer a closer reference than the pins.

Average

Total scratch pinfall divided by games played. State which games are included whenever you compare averages.

Back end

The lane portion nearer the pins, often mentioned when describing changes in ball direction.

Baker format

A team format where different players bowl designated frames of one shared game.

Ball return

Equipment that brings the ball back. Keep hands away from moving machinery.

Board

A narrow strip across the lane width. Board numbers describe starting and target positions.

Brooklyn

A hit opposite the usual pocket. The side reverses for left-handed and right-handed bowlers.

Clean game

A game with a strike or spare in every frame. Tenth-frame fill balls create no extra frames.

Coverstock

The ball’s outer material. Its interaction with the lane contributes to ball motion.

Double

Two consecutive strikes. The second strike supplies only one of the first strike’s two bonus deliveries.

Fill ball

An extra tenth-frame delivery earned by a strike or spare. It completes scoring.

Foul

An illegal contact beyond the foul line during or after a delivery as defined by the rules. The delivery counts but scores zero pinfall.

Foul line

The approach/lane boundary. Crossing it under the foul rule can invalidate pinfall.

Frame

One of the ten scoring units in a game. Most frames contain up to two deliveries; the tenth can contain three.

Gutter

The channel on either side of the lane. A ball entering it ordinarily misses the pins.

Hambone

A nickname for four consecutive strikes. It does not add a special bonus beyond ordinary strike scoring.

Handicap

An allowance used to compare bowlers or teams under a chosen league formula. It is recorded separately from scratch pinfall.

Headpin

Pin 1, at the front of the rack nearest the bowler. It anchors the numbering diagram.

Hook

A curved ball path toward the pins. The amount and timing of the curve depend on the delivery, ball and lane conditions.

House ball

A ball supplied by the bowling center for customers to use. Its grip may not fit as closely as a personally drilled ball.

House shot

A center’s lane-conditioning pattern for routine play. There is no universal house pattern.

Lane oil

Conditioner applied to the lane. Its distribution influences how the ball interacts with the surface.

Leave

The pins still standing after a delivery. Describe a leave with pin numbers for a precise record.

Loft

The distance a ball travels through the air before touching the lane. More is not automatically better.

Mark

A strike or spare on the scorecard. An open frame is not a mark.

Open frame

A completed frame without a strike or spare. Its score is the pinfall of its two deliveries.

Perfect game

A 300 scratch game in standard ten-pin scoring. It requires twelve consecutive strikes.

Pin deck

The area where the pins are set, shown in a pin-number diagram.

Pinfall

Pins credited to a delivery, game or series. Pins fallen on a foul are not credited.

Pocket

The conventional entry area between pins 1 and 3 for right-handers, or 1 and 2 for left-handers.

Rack

A set of pins standing for a delivery. A fresh rack starts with all ten pins.

Release

The part of the delivery when the ball leaves the hand. Timing and control affect its direction and rotation.

Scratch

A score before any handicap allowance. A 300 maximum refers to a single standard scratch game.

Series

A group of games combined into one total. Three games are common, but always confirm the format.

Sleeper

A pin hidden directly behind another from the bowler’s view. Include it in your spare plan.

Spare

Clearing a frame’s rack with two deliveries. It scores ten plus the pinfall on the next delivery.

Split

A separated leave meeting the rule’s conditions after the first delivery, with the headpin down. A converted split still scores as an ordinary spare.

Strike

Clearing a fresh rack on its first delivery. Before the tenth, it scores ten plus the next two deliveries.

Turkey

Three consecutive strikes. Each strike still receives the same ordinary two-delivery bonus.

Washout

A separated leave that includes the headpin. It is distinguished from a split because pin 1 remains standing.

What is a turkey in bowling?

A turkey means three strikes in a row. Once the third strike is delivered, the first of the three is worth thirty because its two bonus deliveries were both strikes. The later strikes can still have bonuses waiting. The name describes the streak; it does not instantly make all three frames worth thirty. See the step-by-step scoring guide for a complete worked game.

Scoring definitions are checked against the USBC Playing Rules. Informal nicknames are included as common vocabulary, not additional rules.