Walkie talkie lingo comes down to a handful of words that keep one person talking at a time. "Over" means your turn to reply, "out" means the conversation is finished, "roger" means you heard the whole message, and "say again" asks for a repeat. A few popular phrases are slang that official radio guidance tells operators to drop, starting with the most famous phrase of all, "over and out". The glossary below gives 50 terms, with the official source named wherever one exists and a verdict for families and work crews: say it, or skip it, usually with the word to say instead.
Key Takeaways
- "Over" hands the conversation back and "out" ends it, as Canada's RIC-21 radio study guide defines them, so "over and out" asks for a reply and refuses one in the same breath. Say "out".
- "Roger" means "I have received all of your last transmission", not yes, according to NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System. Answer a question with "affirmative" or a plain "yes".
- Ten-codes have no single walkie-talkie list. Each agency keeps its own: 10-1 means a weak signal to Winston-Salem police and a short break on a film set, and FEMA requires plain language when agencies work together in an emergency.
- Radio etiquette fits in one rule: one person talks at a time. Listen first, press, pause, speak, end with "over" and release.
- A network push-to-talk radio has groups instead of channels, and the same words still apply there: "over" matters because nobody can see your button.
How do you talk on a walkie talkie?
Listen first, then press the button, pause for a beat, say who you are calling and who you are, give your message, end with "over" and let go. Most of that sequence comes from the FAA's radio technique guidance and Canada's aviation radio study guide; the calling order is the one film and event crews use. It works the same way on a family radio at a campsite as on a crew radio at a stadium gate. If the hardware itself is new to you, the guide to what a walkie talkie is covers the basics.
Russel Dewalt, who wrote this post, puts the etiquette into one rule from his own experience: one person talks at a time. Press, speak, release, and end with "over" (or a pause) so the next person knows they can talk.
Radio etiquette in seven steps
- Listen before you press, long enough to be sure nobody else is mid-message.
- Know what you will say before you key the radio.
- Press the button and pause a beat, so your first word is not cut off.
- Name the person you want, then yourself: "Gate for Stage."
- Give one message in a normal, conversational tone.
- End with "over" if you want a reply or "out" if you are done, then release the button.
- Wait a few seconds before calling again.
Steps 1, 2, 3 and 7 follow the FAA's own wording in the Aeronautical Information Manual, section 4-2-2 (2/20/25 edition). Steps 1 and 2 are its "Listen before you transmit" and "Think before keying your transmitter". For step 3 it says "after pressing the mike button, a slight pause may be necessary to be sure the first word is transmitted". Step 7 is its "When you release the button, wait a few seconds before calling again". Canada's RIC-21 study guide gives the reason for step 1: operators "shall listen to the desired communication channel for a period long enough to satisfy themselves that their transmission will not cause harmful interference." Step 6 is RIC-21's pair of definitions. "Over" is "the invitation to reply", and "out" means "conversation is ended and no response is expected".
A mistake worth knowing by name is the stuck mic: a radio keyed by accident, pressed against a bag or wedged in a jacket pocket. The same FAA section lists "stuck mike" as a cause of interference. On a shared channel it can shut everyone else out until someone notices. If a call fills with fabric noise, check your own button first.
The 50 walkie talkie lingo terms, with a verdict on each
These are the terms a family or a work crew will hear in the first week with radios. Of the 50, 31 are worth saying on any radio, 5 belong mainly to work crews who have been briefed on them, 1 is a problem to recognize rather than a word to say, and 13 are better dropped, most with the word to use instead. "Say it" means fine for a family and a crew alike. "Work teams" means useful where everyone knows it, and stiff at a campsite.
RIC-21 is written for aviation, so its slang list shows professional usage. It does not make a family wrong to say "OK" at a campsite, and the verdicts below allow for that.
| Term | What it means | Say it or skip it |
|---|---|---|
| Over | Your turn to reply: "the invitation to reply" (RIC-21) | Say it |
| Out | Conversation ended, "no response is expected" (RIC-21) | Say it |
| Over and out | Asks for a reply and refuses one at once; on RIC-21's slang list | Skip it: say "out" |
| Roger | "I have received all of your last transmission" (NASA ASRS). Not a yes | Say it, never as a yes |
| Wilco | Will comply: I have it and I will do it | Work teams |
| Roger wilco | Redundant, because nobody complies with a message they did not receive | Skip it: say "wilco" |
| Copy / copy that | Heard and understood | Say it |
| Affirmative | Yes | Say it, or say "yes" |
| Negative | No | Say it, or say "no" |
| Negatory | Slang for negative | Skip it: say "negative" |
| Say again | Repeat your last message ("Say Again" is Winston-Salem's 10-9) | Say it |
| Repeat | On RIC-21's slang list | Skip it: say "say again" |
| Stand by | Wait, I will come back to you ("Stand By" is Winston-Salem's 10-12) | Say it |
| Standing by | Ready and waiting | Say it |
| Go ahead | Send your message, I am listening | Say it |
| [Name] for [name] | Opening call: the person you want, then you ("Gate for Stage") | Say it |
| Come in please | On RIC-21's slang list | Skip it: say their name |
| Go for [name] | I am here, go ahead ("Go for Gate") | Work teams |
| This is [name] | Says who is talking; the Coast Guard's Mayday format uses "THIS IS" | Say it |
| Correction | I made a mistake, and the right version follows | Say it |
| Disregard | Ignore my last message ("Disregard" is Winston-Salem's 10-22) | Say it |
| Break | Means different things to different groups: a pause inside a message, or a request to cut in | Skip it: say what you mean |
| Radio check | Am I coming through? | Say it |
| Loud and clear | I hear you perfectly | Say it |
| How do you read? | Rate my signal. RIC-21's scale runs 1 to 5: Bad, Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent | Work teams |
| Do you copy? | Did you get that? | Say it |
| Unable | I cannot do that | Work teams |
| Read back | Repeat it back so I know you have it right | Say it for addresses and numbers |
| Speak slower | Exactly what it says, and underused | Say it |
| Numbers digit by digit | "One zero" for 10 (RIC-21) | Say it |
| Niner, tree, fife | Aviation sounds for 9, 3 and 5 (RIC-21) | Skip it unless trained |
| Spelling alphabet | Alfa to Zulu, for names and plates (NATO) | Say it |
| All stations / all call | A message for everyone in the group | Say it |
| On it | I am handling it | Say it |
| ETA | Estimated time of arrival | Say it |
| En route | On the way | Say it |
| On scene / on site | Arrived | Say it |
| Eyes on | I can see it, or "does anyone have eyes on the van?" | Say it |
| Stepping off | Leaving the radio for a while | Say it |
| Stuck mic / keying | A radio keyed by accident; the FAA lists "stuck mike" as a cause of interference | Know it |
| Breaker breaker | CB-era opener; on RIC-21's slang list | Skip it: say their name |
| Mayday | Distress call, "spoken three times" in the Coast Guard's marine format | Skip it: call 911 |
| Emergency | The plain word, in place of 10-33 | Say it |
| 10-4 | "Affirmative" (Winston-Salem) | Say it: everyone knows it |
| 10-20 / "What's your 20?" | "Location" (Winston-Salem) | Say it, or ask "where are you?" |
| 10-1 | "Weak Signal" to Winston-Salem police; a short break on a film set | Skip it unless your team defines it |
| 10-2 | "Good Signal" to Winston-Salem police; a longer break on a film set | Skip it unless your team defines it |
| 10-7 / 10-8 | "Out of Service" / "In Service" (Winston-Salem) | Work teams, where dispatch uses them |
| 10-9 | "Say Again" (Winston-Salem) | Skip it: say "say again" |
| 10-33 | "Need Immediate Assistance" (Winston-Salem) | Skip it: say "emergency" |
Sources: definitions and the slang list from ISED Canada's RIC-21 study guide (modified 2011-07-12); roger from NASA ASRS CALLBACK issue 196 (September 1995); stuck mike from the FAA's Aeronautical Information Manual 4-2-2 (2/20/25 edition); the alphabet from NATO; ten-code meanings from the City of Winston-Salem Police radio codes; Mayday and "THIS IS" from the US Coast Guard Navigation Center; film-set meanings of 10-1 and 10-2, and the crew terms copy, standing by, [name] for [name], go for, do you copy, on it, eyes on and stepping off, from PremiumBeat (2020-11-12) and SetHero; all read 2026-09-29. Wilco, affirmative, negative, negatory, go ahead, correction, break, radio check, loud and clear, unable, read back, speak slower, emergency and the status words (all call, ETA, en route, on scene) carry their everyday radio meanings. The verdicts are this post's own.
Which radio words should you stop saying?
Six phrases cause more confusion than they save: "over and out", "repeat", "breaker breaker", "come in please", "roger" used as a yes, and "roger wilco". The first four appear by name in RIC-21, which says "slang expressions such as 'OK', 'REPEAT', 'TEN-FOUR', 'OVER AND OUT', 'BREAKER BREAKER', 'COME IN PLEASE', etc., should not be used."
- Over and out. "Over" asks for a reply and "out" says none is expected, so the phrase contradicts itself. Say "out" when you are finished.
- Repeat. Say "say again" instead. The Winston-Salem police list gives "Say Again" as the plain meaning of its 10-9.
- Breaker breaker and come in please. Both are openers that carry no information. Say the name of the person you want, then yours.
- Roger as a yes. NASA's CALLBACK safety bulletin is blunt about it: "'Roger' means, 'I have received all of your last transmission.' It should not be used by either pilots or controllers to answer a question that requires a 'yes' or 'no' response." The same issue describes a near miss in which "Roger" was taken as confirmation. Asked "Are you at the car?", a reply of "Roger" says you heard the question, not that you are at the car.
- Roger wilco. Wilco means will comply, and nobody complies with a message they did not receive, so "roger" adds nothing. Say "wilco", or on a family radio, "on it".
Two ten-codes belong on the same list: 10-9 and 10-33. Say "say again" and "emergency" instead. A listener who does not know the code loses nothing with the plain word, and in an emergency nobody should be decoding.
Mayday is a special case. On a boat, the US Coast Guard's format is "MAYDAY" spoken three times, then "THIS IS" once, and the Coast Guard warns that a false Mayday call is a felony. On a family or crew radio, skip the word: call 911 first, then tell the group what is happening. The guide to walkie talkies for emergencies covers how radios fit into a family plan.
Do walkie talkies have their own 10 codes?
No. There is no walkie-talkie set of ten-codes. They are a police brevity code, and APCO International lists "the establishment of the familiar '10 Codes' in 1937" as one of its earliest projects on its projects page. APCO then standardized them in Project 2 (1967) and revised them in Project 14 (1974). Police1 (Megan Wells, 2024-09-03) traces the 1937 codes to Charles Hopper of the Illinois State Police, at a time when channels were limited.
Every agency keeps its own list. The same code can mean different things to different listeners. On the Winston-Salem police list, 10-1 is "Weak Signal" and 10-2 is "Good Signal", while on a film set 10-1 is a short bathroom break and 10-2 a longer one.
FEMA settled the question for emergency work. Its NIMS Alert 023-06 of December 19, 2006 says "It is required that plain language be used for multi-agency, multi-jurisdiction and multi-discipline events, such as major disasters and exercises." The same alert adds that the requirement "does not abolish the use of 10-codes in everyday department communications." So a department using ten-codes on its daily dispatch channel is not breaking the FEMA requirement. Police1 reports that in 2006 "The U.S. federal government recommended that 10 codes should be discontinued in favor of everyday language."
The FCC permits them on GMRS, the General Mobile Radio Service. Its rule against "Coded messages or messages with hidden meanings" adds, in the same line, that "10 codes" are permissible (47 CFR 95.1733(a)(3)). The comparison of GMRS, FRS and network radios explains which of those services needs a license.
For a family or a mixed crew, keep two: 10-4 and "What's your 20?", which is 10-20, "Location", on the Winston-Salem list. RIC-21 calls "ten-four" slang, and on an aviation frequency it is. Among friends and coworkers it is the one code everybody already knows. Every other code needs a list that everyone on the radio has read.
How do you spell names and numbers over the radio?
Spell with the NATO phonetic alphabet and say numbers one digit at a time. The alphabet runs Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, Zulu. NATO's own page spells two of them "Alfa" and "Juliett", and so should any crew sheet you print.
The alphabet in use today dates from the 1950s. An earlier version, built on sounds common to English, French and Spanish, was proposed by the International Air Transport Association and took effect on 1 November 1951 for civil aviation only. NATO allies were told the new alphabet would take effect in NATO on 1 March 1956, and the International Civil Aviation Organization approved it with November as the word for N.
RIC-21 says 10 is "one zero", so room 1204 becomes "one two zero four"; whole thousands are the only exception to going digit by digit. A plate reading KX7 becomes "Kilo X-ray seven", and the listener cannot mistake the K for a C.
Aviation also changes the sound of some digits: "TREE" for 3, "FIFE" for 5 and "NIN-er" for 9. Leave those to pilots unless your crew has trained on them.
Radio lingo by job: security, events, film sets and hospitality
Every workplace adds words of its own, and the site's own list always wins over any glossary, this one included. The tables below give terms commonly used in each setting. Learn your site's version on the first shift, and ask what a code means rather than guess.
Security
| Term | What it means on a security team |
|---|---|
| 10-20 | Location: "What's your 20?" |
| 10-7 / 10-8 | Out of service / in service, for going off and on a post |
| Eyes on | I can see the person or the vehicle |
| All clear | Area checked, nothing found |
| Color codes | Alerts a site sets for itself; the meanings vary, so learn yours |
Sources: 10-20 and 10-7 / 10-8 from the City of Winston-Salem Police radio codes, read 2026-09-29; the other terms are common practice, not a published standard. The guide to walkie talkies for security guards covers the radios and the shift-start radio check.
Events
| Term | What it means on an event crew |
|---|---|
| Go for [name] | I am listening, go ahead |
| Stand by | Wait, I will come back to you |
| ETA | How long until you get here |
| Switch to 2 | Move to channel 2 for a side conversation |
| All call | A message for everyone on the channel |
Sources: common practice on event crews, not a published standard; "Stand By" is 10-12 on the Winston-Salem list, read 2026-09-29.
Film sets
Two of the film-set terms below are about the take itself: "lock it up" comes before it and "back to one" after it.
| Term | What it means on set |
|---|---|
| Flying in | On the way, fast |
| 10-1 / 10-2 | Short / longer bathroom break |
| Lock it up | Hold people and noise for a take |
| Back to one | Everyone back to first positions for another take |
| Going to 2 | Moving to channel 2 to talk off the main channel |
Sources: PremiumBeat (2020-11-12) and SetHero, read 2026-09-29.
Hospitality
| Term | What it means on a hotel or venue team |
|---|---|
| House codes | Codes a property sets for its own staff; they vary from one property to the next |
| On it | I am handling the request |
| Copy | Heard and understood |
| Go ahead | Send your message, I am listening |
| Stepping off | Leaving the radio, for example to talk with a guest |
Sources: common practice, not a published standard; house codes vary by property, and your property's list wins.
Where a code is missing from your site's list, the plain phrase from the 50-term table is the safe choice. Nobody on the channel has to guess what "say again" means.
Which words still matter on a network radio?
Nearly all of them. A network push-to-talk radio carries voice over cellular networks rather than directly from handset to handset on a shared frequency, and it replaces channels with groups: the people who need to hear each other are set up in the same group ahead of time. The explainer on how push-to-talk over cellular works covers the mechanics. For radio lingo, four things change or stay:
- "Switch to 2" drops out. On a group-based radio there is no channel dial to turn. A side conversation needs its own group, arranged in advance, so "switch to 2" gives way to knowing who is in which group.
- "Over" stays. On a group call, as on any radio, the other person cannot see your button. Russel's rule holds: end with "over" or a clear pause.
- "All call" becomes literal. A group call reaches every radio in the group, so an all call goes to the whole team at once.
- The pause after pressing is still a good habit. The FAA's advice to wait a beat before speaking costs nothing on any radio.
The Echo Radios walkie-talkie is one example of the type, with groups of up to 250 people as standard, extendable to 5,000 on request. On that radio you can manage groups and names yourself from an admin panel, or ask the company to make any change for you, for as long as you own the radios. That radio's range equals coverage, not distance: it connects to all major carriers and switches between them automatically, and its antenna reaches towers three to four times farther than a phone's.
A network radio needs a mobile signal from some carrier. Where there is absolutely no coverage at all, a radio that talks directly from handset to handset is the tool. That place is rarer than a phone suggests, because the Echo radio tries every major carrier and has a larger antenna than a phone, so it often holds a signal where the phone has given up. A phone's bars are not the test. Check it with the radios: walk the site and call a radio check from each corner, which is exactly what the phrase is for. The post on whether nationwide walkie talkies really work goes further into coverage.
Frequently asked questions about walkie talkie lingo
What are some walkie talkie sayings?
The core sayings are over (your turn to reply), out (conversation ended), copy (heard and understood), roger (received, not a yes), say again (repeat that), stand by (wait), go ahead, affirmative and negative. Skip "over and out": it asks for a reply and refuses one at once.
What are the 10 codes for walkie-talkies?
There is no walkie-talkie set. Ten-codes are a police brevity code that APCO set up in 1937, and each agency keeps its own list. To Winston-Salem police, 10-4 means "Affirmative" and 10-20 means "Location". FEMA requires plain language when agencies work together in an emergency, so plain words are the safer choice.
What do you say when using a walkie talkie?
Listen first. Press the button, pause a beat, say who you are calling and who you are ("Gate for Stage"), give one short message, end with "over" and release. Say "out" when you are finished. One person talks at a time, so wait a few seconds before calling again.
What are some common phrases used in radio talk?
Radio talk rests on four things: procedure words such as over, out, roger, copy, say again and stand by; affirmative and negative for yes and no; numbers spoken digit by digit, so 10 is "one zero"; and the spelling alphabet, Alfa to Zulu, for names and plates. Plain words beat codes when a listener might not know the code.
Which walkie talkie words to learn first
Learn 8 terms before the first time you press the button: over, out, copy, roger, say again, stand by, affirmative and negative. Add 10-4 and "What's your 20?", the two codes worth keeping, and retire the six phrases on the stop list. For a team, print the 50-term table and go through the verdict column at the first briefing, so the arguments about wording happen there rather than on the air.
If your group is spread wider than a handset-to-handset radio reaches, a network push-to-talk radio keeps the same words and swaps channels for groups. The product page shows how the radios arrive, grouped and ready to talk.