Pickleball Words Explained: Kitchen, Dink, Volley and More
3 October 2026
Pickleball has some funny words. Here are the ones you will hear on court, in plain English.
The kitchen
The kitchen is the area on both sides of the net, seven feet deep. Its proper name is the non-volley zone. You cannot hit the ball out of the air while you stand in it.
Volley
A volley is when you hit the ball before it bounces. In pickleball you may volley, but not from inside the kitchen.
Dink
A dink is a soft, short shot that lands in the opponent's kitchen. It is a calm shot used to slow the game down.
Drive
A drive is a hard, fast shot. It is the opposite of a dink.
Lob
A lob is a high shot over your opponent's head, to the back of the court.
Fault
A fault is any mistake that ends the rally, such as hitting the ball out, hitting it into the net, or volleying from the kitchen.
Rally
A rally is the back and forth of shots between the serve and the fault.
Side out
A side out is when the serve passes to the other team.
Baseline
The baseline is the line at the back of each end of the court.
Want the full rules? Read pickleball rules for beginners, then book a court and try the words out.