CB & trucker slang translator: channel 19 in plain English
Type a phrase you heard on the radio, or look up a single term. The CB & trucker slang translator turns trucker lingo into plain English, and plain English back into slang.
87 terms in our own words. Slang changes by region and generation; these are common meanings.
IN PLAIN ENGLISH
calling for attention on channel 19, the main trucker channel a police officer, usually state highway patrol police using radar or a speed camera at the 112 a mile marker the weigh station is open; trucks must pull in unless bypassed message received, understood, okay
- breaker one nine
- Calling for attention on channel 19, the main trucker channel
- smokey
- A police officer, usually state highway patrol
- taking pictures
- Police using radar or a speed camera
- yardstick
- A mile marker
- coop is open
- The weigh station is open; trucks must pull in unless bypassed
- 10 4
- Message received, understood, okay
ALL TERMS
- 10-4: Message received, understood, okay
- 10-1: Your signal is weak, I can barely hear you
- 10-7: Going off the radio or off duty
- 10-8: Back on the radio, in service
- 10-9: Say that again, please repeat
- 10-10: Done talking but still listening
- 10-20: Location: where are you?
- 10-33: Emergency traffic, clear the channel
- 10-36: What time is it?
- 10-100: Need a restroom stop
- 10-200: Police needed
- breaker: I want to start talking on this channel
- breaker one-nine: Calling for attention on channel 19, the main trucker channel
- channel 19: The channel most truckers use on the highway
- handle: Your nickname on the radio
- got your ears on: Are you listening to your radio?
- ears: A CB radio
- come back: Answer me, or say that again
- copy: I heard you
- negatory: No
- affirmative: Yes
- wall to wall: Your signal is loud and clear
- walked on: Someone talked over you and blocked your signal
- ratchet jaw: Someone who talks too long on the channel
- 73s: Best regards, goodbye
- 88s: Love and kisses, a warm goodbye
- catch you on the flip side: Talk to you on the way back
- keep the shiny side up: Drive safe, keep the truck upright
- smokey: A police officer, usually state highway patrol
- bear in the air: Police watching traffic from an aircraft
- plain wrapper: An unmarked police car
- county mountie: A county sheriff's deputy
- taking pictures: Police using radar or a speed camera
- bear trap: A speed trap
- chicken coop: A weigh station
- coop is open: The weigh station is open; trucks must pull in unless bypassed
- coop is closed: The weigh station is closed
- scale house: The building at a weigh station where officers work
- hammer down: Speeding up, going fast
- hammer lane: The left, passing lane
- granny lane: The right, slower lane
- back door: Behind you
- front door: Ahead of you
- rocking chair: The truck in the middle of a group, protected front and back
- alligator: A piece of shredded tire tread on the road
- double nickel: 55 miles per hour
- yardstick: A mile marker
- bumper sticker: A vehicle following too close
- flip-flop: A U-turn or the return trip
- chicken lights: Extra decorative lights on a truck
- jake brake: An engine brake that slows the truck, loud on downgrades
- shiny side: The top of the truck
- four-wheeler: A passenger car or pickup
- big truck: A tractor-trailer
- bobtail: A tractor driving without a trailer
- parking lot: A car hauler loaded with cars
- skateboard: A flatbed trailer
- reefer: A refrigerated trailer
- thermos bottle: A tanker trailer
- dragon wagon: A tow truck
- meat wagon: An ambulance
- salt shaker: A road salt or sand truck
- bed bugger: A household moving truck
- hotshot: A heavy pickup pulling a flatbed or gooseneck for fast, smaller loads
- pickle park: A rest area
- choke and puke: A truck stop diner
- shaky town: Los Angeles
- big apple: New York City
- windy city: Chicago
- motor city: Detroit
- beantown: Boston
- cowtown: Fort Worth
- lost wages: Las Vegas
- deadhead: Driving empty, with no paying load
- drop and hook: Leave one trailer and pick up a loaded one, no waiting to load
- live load: Wait at the dock while the trailer is loaded
- lumper: A worker paid to unload a trailer at the receiver
- detention: Pay for waiting at a shipper or receiver past the free time
- layover: An overnight wait caused by a delay, sometimes paid
- TONU: Truck order not used: a fee when a load is cancelled after you were sent
- rate con: The rate confirmation: the broker's written load and rate agreement
- glad hands: The air hose couplers between tractor and trailer
- fifth wheel: The coupling plate on the tractor that the trailer locks onto
- slide the tandems: Move the trailer axles to shift weight between axles
- pre-trip: The inspection before driving
- 34 reset: 34 hours off duty in a row to restart the weekly hours
- running legal: Driving within hours of service and weight rules
10-4 on the slang. Our dispatchers talk plain English, plan loads around your hours and home time, and send every load to you to approve. Dispatch runs 5% of gross for one truck, and you confirm every load.
By Nathan Beck · Updated October 2026
Channel 19 has its own language, and new drivers, family members and even long-time four-wheelers hear it and wonder what just happened. This CB & trucker slang translator takes a phrase as you heard it and turns it into plain English, term by term. It also works the other way: type plain English, like weigh station, and it shows the slang drivers use for it.
Where CB slang comes from
CB radio slang grew up in the 1960s and 70s, when drivers shared one crowded channel and needed short, fast ways to say where they were, what was ahead and who was watching. Some of it borrowed from police ten-codes; most of it was invented on the road. Plenty is still in use, and new terms keep showing up as trucking changes. Meanings drift by region and generation, so treat our dictionary as the common meaning, not an official one. We wrote every definition ourselves and left out insulting terms on purpose.
How the translator works
- Phrase mode: type or paste what you heard. Known terms, including multi-word ones like breaker one-nine, are replaced by their meaning; everything else passes through.
- Longest match first: it reads coop is open as one term before chicken coop or coop alone.
- Other spellings: ten four, 10 4 and 10-4 all match.
- Look-up mode: search slang or plain English, and filter by 10-codes, radio talk, police and scales, the road, vehicles, places or work and freight.
Truck driver lingo for the job itself
Not all trucker lingo is radio talk. Working terms matter more day to day: deadhead is driving empty, drop and hook means swapping trailers without waiting to load, a lumper unloads at the receiver, detention is pay for waiting, and the rate con is the broker's written agreement. Knowing these makes it easier to read a load offer and talk to brokers. Shop talk at the dock has its own words too: glad hands are the air couplers, sliding the tandems shifts weight between axles, and a pre-trip is the inspection before you roll.
What a good and a bad use look like
A good use is learning the radio so you can follow road reports and know when to slow down or plan around a closure. A bad use is relying on chatter over the signs: a scale is open when the sign says open, and the posted speed is the speed. If you are shopping for a radio, our guide to the CB radio for a truck covers what to look for, and the truck driver sleeper cab guide covers the rest of life in the cab.
Running your own truck also has a business side. The trucking cash flow forecaster shows your bank balance week by week, and dump truck operators can price their work with the dump truck hourly rate calculator.
Plain talk from dispatch
Our dispatchers talk plain English. They plan loads around your hours and home time, send every load to you to approve, and the rate con comes straight to you. See how it works for owner operators, or apply in about two minutes.
Questions about this calculator
What does 10-4 mean in trucking?
It means message received and understood, roughly okay or got it. It comes from the old ten-code system radio operators used to keep messages short. On channel 19 you will hear it as a quick reply to almost anything. You might also hear just four, or ten-four good buddy, which means the same thing with a friendly tone.
What is truck driver lingo for the police and weigh stations?
A smokey or bear is a police officer, usually highway patrol, and a plain wrapper is an unmarked car. Taking pictures means radar. A chicken coop is a weigh station, and drivers will tell you if the coop is open or closed. Always follow the actual signs and pull in to an open scale unless your bypass device tells you otherwise.
Is 10-4 an insurance company?
10-4 is radio slang for message received. Some businesses use 10-4 in their names, including companies that sell truck insurance, but the phrase itself has nothing to do with insurance. We are a dispatch service, not an insurance company, and we are not connected to any business that uses the name.
Do truckers still use CB radios?
Many do, especially for real-time news a phone app cannot give: a wreck just ahead, a closed ramp, an open scale or bad weather on the next grade. Channel 19 is the usual highway channel. Plenty of drivers also rely on phone apps and ELD messages now, so CB use varies a lot by region and by driver.
A dispatcher who talks straight
Plain answers, no setup fee, and every load needs your yes.