Web3 starter glossary
About 1473 wordsAbout 5 min
The thing that stops beginners in Web3 is rarely the concepts. It is that four unexplained words show up in the first sentence, and by the time you have looked them all up you have lost the thread.
This is a reference, not a lesson
Do not read it end to end, and do not memorise it. Skim the tabs once so you know what is here, then search it — Ctrl/Cmd + F — whenever a word stops you mid-sentence.
Nothing on this page is assessed.
Every entry gives you the same three things:
term → one-line explanation → a concrete example
One line is deliberately not the whole truth. It is enough to keep reading. The week that owns each concept is in the last column, and that is where the real explanation lives.
Core
| Term | One line | Example | Covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Block | A batch of transactions added together | Ethereum adds one roughly every 12 seconds | Week 1 |
| Transaction | A signed instruction to change the shared record | "Send 0.1 ETH to Ben" | Week 1 |
| Gas | The amount of computation or work your transaction uses | A transfer uses less gas than deploying a contract | Week 2 |
| Validator | A participant that proposes and checks new blocks | Ethereum has hundreds of thousands of validators | Week 1 |
| Node | A computer running the network's software | Your wallet talks to one to read balances | Week 1 |
| Finality | The point where a transaction won't be reversed | Ethereum: about 15 minutes. Solana: much faster | Week 2 |
| Mainnet | The real network, with real value at stake | Ethereum Mainnet | Week 1 |
| Testnet | A practice network with worthless coins | Sepolia — everything in this programme | Week 1 |
| On-chain | Recorded on the blockchain, public and permanent | A token transfer | Week 1 |
| Off-chain | Happening outside the blockchain | A Discord vote | Week 2 |
| Term | One line | Example | Covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coin | The native asset of its own blockchain | BTC on Bitcoin, ETH on Ethereum | Week 1 |
| Token | An asset created by a contract on top of a chain | USDC lives on Ethereum but is not ETH | Weeks 1, 3 |
| Stablecoin | A token designed to hold a steady value | USDC, USDT | Week 1 |
| Staking | Locking an asset to help secure a network | Locking ETH to back a validator | Week 1 |
| Mint | Creating new units of a token or NFT | A collection minting 5,000 items | Week 3 |
| Burn | Permanently destroying units | Ethereum burns part of every fee | Week 3 |
| Airdrop | Distributing tokens free to a set of addresses | Uniswap sent 400 UNI to early users in 2020 | Landscape |
Financial applications built as smart contracts rather than as companies. Week 3 explains how they work; recognise the words for now.
| Term | One line | Example | Covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| TVL | Total Value Locked — how much value sits in a protocol | A headline metric on DefiLlama | Week 4 |
| Liquidity | How easily something trades without moving the price | A thin market has low liquidity | Landscape |
| LP | Liquidity Provider — deposits assets so others can trade | Depositing into a Uniswap pool | Landscape |
| APY / APR | Advertised annual return. APY compounds, APR doesn't | "8% APY" on a lending market | Landscape |
| AMM | Trading against a formula, not an order book | Uniswap | Week 3 |
| CEX | Centralised Exchange — a company holds your assets | Coinbase, Binance, OKX | Week 1 |
| DEX | Decentralised Exchange — contracts swap from your wallet | Uniswap | Weeks 1, 3 |
CEX vs DEX is Core
It is the clearest example of the trade-off this whole field is about: convenience and recourse on one side, control and self-custody on the other.
| Term | One line | Example | Covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| DAO | A group coordinating shared decisions or resources using social processes, governance rules and on-chain tools | A treasury governed by a defined group | Week 4 |
| Proposal | A documented suggested change for discussion or decision; publishing it does not mean it was approved or deployed | "Reduce the fee from 0.3% to 0.25%" | Week 4 |
| Governance | The process used to discuss, decide and sometimes execute changes; it may happen on-chain, off-chain, or through both | Forum discussion, an off-chain vote, then on-chain execution | Week 4 |
| Multisig | A wallet needing several signatures to act | A 3-of-5 treasury | Week 4 |
You will meet these constantly. They are not technical, and treating them as technical is a common beginner mistake.
| Term | One line | Note |
|---|---|---|
| DYOR | "Do Your Own Research" | Often sincere; also used to dodge responsibility for a bad call |
| NFA | "Not Financial Advice" | A disclaimer, not a legal shield |
| FOMO | Fear Of Missing Out | The most reliably exploited emotion in this industry |
| FUD | Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt | Sometimes describes real manipulation. Frequently used to dismiss legitimate criticism |
| GM | "Good morning" | A greeting. That is genuinely all it is |
| Degen | Someone taking deliberately reckless risk | Usually self-applied, half-joking |
Two of these deserve a second's thought
"DYOR" and "NFA" appear most often right next to the claims that deserve the most scrutiny. "FUD" is the standard reply to inconvenient evidence. Notice which. Week 4 teaches you how to check claims properly.
Landscape
Words you will hear early but do not need yet.
| Term | One line | Covered |
|---|---|---|
| Smart contract | A program that runs on a blockchain | Week 3 |
| DApp | An application that uses smart contracts or on-chain state for part of its logic | Week 3 |
| Layer 1 / Layer 2 | A base blockchain that secures itself; a separate network that handles activity while relying on the L1 for important settlement or security. Ethereum is an L1; Base and Arbitrum are Ethereum L2 examples | Week 2 |
| Bridge | Infrastructure that helps assets or messages move between networks. Across and Wormhole are examples | Week 2 |
| Oracle | A service that feeds outside data to smart contracts | Week 3 |
| Wallet | Software that holds your keys and signs transactions | Week 1 |
| Seed phrase | 12 or 24 words that recover your wallet | Week 1, Part 6 |
| Block explorer | A website for reading everything on a chain | Week 1 |
| ABI | The description of how to call a contract's functions | Week 3 |
| EVM | The Ethereum Virtual Machine, where contracts run | Week 2 |
| NFT | A token where each unit is individually distinct | Weeks 1, 3 |
| RWA | Real World Assets, represented on-chain | Week 4 |
| ZK | Zero-knowledge cryptography, for privacy and scaling | Week 2; broader uses in Week 4 |
Seed phrase — the one entry that matters today
Never share it with another person or enter it because someone told you to. The normal exception is when you deliberately restore or import your wallet into wallet software that you installed from a verified official source. Part 4 explains the rule in more detail.
Worked example
Here is why this page exists. A real sentence of the kind you will meet in Week 4:
"The DAO passed a proposal to deploy the protocol on an L2, and TVL migrated from mainnet within a week."
Unpacked with this glossary and nothing else:
| Fragment | Meaning |
|---|---|
| The DAO passed a proposal | The DAO's governance process approved a proposed change |
| deploy the protocol on an L2 | Run the application on an Ethereum L2 — a separate network that handles activity while relying on Ethereum for important settlement/security; lower fees are often one benefit |
| TVL migrated from mainnet | The value people had deposited moved there |
Plain English: the community voted to move to a cheaper network, and users followed the money within a week.
Recognition first, understanding later
Recognition first, understanding later. You did not need to understand how an L2 works to read that sentence. That is the point of this page.
Further exploration — optional, not assessed
- ethereum.org — Glossary — longer and more precise. Use it when one line is not enough
- ethereum.org — Web3 for beginners — the same vocabulary in narrative form
Sources and attribution
- ethereum.org — Glossary — Reuse (CC BY 4.0), adapted and reorganised
- ethereum.org — Gas and fees — Reuse (CC BY 4.0), adapted
- ethereum.org — Stablecoins — Reuse (CC BY 4.0), adapted
- ethereum.org — Networks — Reuse (CC BY 4.0), adapted
- Base documentation · Arbitrum documentation — Link, referenced for L2 examples
- Across documentation · Wormhole documentation — Link, referenced for bridge examples
Changelog
ff0f4-feat(academy): finalize Foundation learning experienceon57062-docs(foundation): strengthen beginner concept-to-reality progressionona931f-docs(foundation): finalize beginner learning path and handbook UXon2d4b4-docs(curriculum): finalize Week 0-2 Foundation revisiononaed71-Bootstrap Blockchain@NTU Academy Handbookon