CB and trucker slang translator

How the translator works

The translator works from a dictionary of CB and trucker slang with our own short definitions, including every term in our trucker lingo dictionary plus common phrases heard on the road.

• CB talk to plain English. It searches your text for known slang, longest phrases first, so "bear in the air" isn't read as just "bear." Each match is replaced with its meaning in brackets, and the terms it found are listed with definitions underneath.
• Plain English to CB talk. It searches for everyday words and phrases, such as "weigh station," "police" or "mile marker," and swaps in the matching slang.

Words it doesn't know are left as they are, so you can see exactly what was translated. Terms with their own page link to it, where you can read where the term came from and how it's used today.

A worked example

Breaker 1-9

a call to break in on channel 19

smokey

a state trooper or highway patrol officer

taking pictures

police checking speed with radar

yardstick 112

mile marker 112

chicken coop is open

the weigh station is open

10-4

message received

Put together: someone is asking for the channel, warning that a trooper is running radar at mile marker 112, telling everyone the weigh station is open, and signing off. That's a lot of useful information in one short call, which is the whole point of CB talk.

Common terms by topic

Most CB slang falls into a few groups, which makes it easier to learn.

• Police. Smokey, bear, full grown bear, county mountie, plain wrapper, bear in the air, taking pictures. The most useful warnings on the channel.
• The road. Super slab for the interstate, hammer lane and granny lane for the left and right lanes, yardstick for a mile marker, comedian for the median, brake check for traffic slowing ahead.
• Places. Chicken coop for a weigh station and pickle park for a rest area.
• Other vehicles. Four-wheeler for a car, roller skate for a small car, wiggle wagon for doubles, portable parking lot for a car hauler, dragon wagon for a tow truck.
• The rig and the job. Bobtail, deadhead, reefer, skateboard, chicken lights, and travel agent for the dispatcher.
• Radio manners. Breaker 1-9 to get on the channel, what's your 20 for location, got your ears on to check someone is listening, and 10-4 to sign off.

Why truckers talk this way

CB radio is a shared channel, so messages need to be short, clear and easy to hear through static and engine noise. Slang grew up to do exactly that: a few syllables can carry a warning about police, traffic, weather or a weigh station to every truck within range. In the 1970s, CB radio became a national craze, songs and movies carried the lingo far beyond trucking, and phrases like 10-4 and "breaker 1-9" entered everyday speech.

Today, phones and apps handle much of the job, but channel 19 is still where many drivers share what's just ahead. Our guide to truck driver lingo covers the history in more depth.

A few notes on usage

• Usage varies. CB talk changes by region and by decade. Treat the translations as the common meaning, not the only one.
• Some terms are dated. Plenty of 1970s slang is rarely heard on the radio now, though drivers still know it.
• We leave out insults. Some CB slang puts down other people. It isn't in the dictionary.
• Keep it short on the air. Real CB talk is brief. Say what matters and get off the channel.

Test what you've learned

Think you've got it? Try the trucker slang quiz and see how many terms you know. Or browse the full trucker lingo dictionary, where you can tune a CB dial through every term.

From slang to the business

If you know the lingo and you're running your own truck, the business side matters just as much. The dispatcher fee calculator shows what dispatch costs on your gross, and the truck driver salary calculator compares common pay models. When you're ready to keep your truck loaded, see how our truck dispatch service works, or try more free tools on the trucking tools page.