lag spike
Sudden network delay
A lag spike is a sudden, brief period of severe delay in a networked system, especially in online gaming.
Unlike steady lag, which is consistent slowness, a spike is an abrupt jump in latency that causes the game to freeze or stutter momentarily before catching up: I died because of a lag spike right when the boss attacked.
The term reflects how latency graphs show these delays as sharp vertical spikes.
- latencyDelay in system response
- pingBrief metallic tone
- delayEnforced waiting period
- input delayLatency before system responds
- stutterInvoluntary speech repetition
freeze · rubber-banding · dropped frames · connection · bad connection · framerate · jitter · timeout · buffer · desync · server · bandwidth · loading · crash · hitching · teleporting · glitch · online
- Tech Glitchescrash, freeze, blue screen, BSOD, screen tear
- latencylatency, delay, ping, response time, round trip time
- digital errorsdata loss, packet loss, network error, buffer overflow, runtime error
- performance metricsmetrics, metric, KPIs, benchmark, benchmarks
- timing problemsdelay, timeout, late arrival, late start, missed deadline
- game glitchesglitch, bug, clipping, softlock, hardlock
lag spikelow latency
Minimal transmission delay
buttery smooth · responsive · snappy · seamless · fluid
lag, spike, lags, lagged, lagging, lagger, spikes, spiked, spiking