RPG

What Does RPG Mean?

RPG means "Role-Playing Game" and "Rocket-Propelled Grenade."

Role-Playing Game

The abbreviation RPG is used in gaming to refer to "Role-Playing Game." In this context, RPGs are games in which players act out the roles of characters in a fictional setting. RPGs can be table-top games or digital games. The digital versions are usually played online.

Rocket-Propelled Grenade

An RPG is also a shoulder-fired, anti-tank weapon system that fires projectiles equipped with an explosive warhead. The term "Rocket-Propelled Grenade" was coined in English to match the Russian language abbreviation for the weapon, which is Raketniy Protivotankoviy Granatomet.

RPGs with high-explosive anti-tank warheads are highly effective against lightly armoured vehicles such as armoured personnel carriers. However, heavily armoured vehicles, such as main battle tanks, are generally too well protected to be penetrated by an RPG round.

Cheap and easily available, RPGs are still being used widely in conflict areas such as Afghanistan and Syria, where they have proved to be most effective against helicopters. Taliban fighters used RPGs to shoot down US helicopters in June 2005 and August 2011, and Somali militiamen used them to shoot down two US UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters during the "Battle of Mogadishu" in 1993.

Image for RPG

When I write RPG, I mean this: meaning of RPG The image shows a soldier preparing to fire an RPG.

Summary of Key Points

"Role-Playing Game" is a common definition for RPG on gaming apps, such as Discord and TeamSpeak, as well as on Snapchat, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
RPG
Definition:Role-Playing Game
Type:Abbreviation
Guessability:
2: Quite easy to guess
Typical Users:
Adults and Teenagers
"Rocket Propelled Grenade" is another common definition for RPG.
RPG
Definition:Rocket Propelled Grenade
Type:Abbreviation
Guessability:
2: Quite easy to guess
Typical Users:
Adults and Teenagers

More...

Examples of RPG in Sentences

Here are examples of RPG being used in conversation:
  • Gail: What's your favourite RPG?
  • Colin: Definitely The Witcher 3! Or, maybe, Fallout 4.
    • (Here, RPG means "Role-Playing Game.")
  • Gaz: My preferred weapon in Call of Duty is the RPG. They are great for taking out helicopters.
  • Carrie: Yes. Just don't try to use an RPG against a tank. You may as well run up and hit it with a hot dog.
    • (Here, RPG means "Rocket-Propelled Grenade.")

An Academic Look at RPG

RPG is an initialism abbreviation. This means it is pronounced using its individual letters (i.e., Ar Pee Gee). Initialisms contrast with acronyms, which are spoken like words.

Example of RPG Used in a Text

RPG

Help Us Improve Cyber Definitions

  • Do you disagree with something on this page?
  • Did you spot a typo?
  • Do you know a slang term that we've missed?
Please tell us using this form.

See Also

GRENADE (contentious issue) MP5 (weapon manufactured by Heckler and Koch) CCW (carrying a concealed weapon) NUKE (to attack with a nuclear weapon) SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics (US)) WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) 44 (.44 magnum handgun) GLOCK (weapon manufactured by Glock) LMG (Light Machine Gun)