Vocabulary in Catching Fire

Extra entries a poor citizen can add to the Reaping lottery in exchange for a small supply of grain and oil, increasing their chance of being selected as a tribute.

The annual public ceremony in each district where one boy and one girl are randomly selected by lottery to compete as tributes in the Hunger Games.

A young person chosen or volunteered to represent their district in the Hunger Games, where they must fight to the death against tributes from other districts.

A cluster of large, well-furnished houses in each district reserved for citizens who have won the Hunger Games; only past winners are entitled to live there.

Armed soldiers employed by the Capitol to enforce its laws and maintain order in the districts, often through public punishment or violence.

The wealthy, all-powerful central government city that rules over the twelve districts, organizes the Hunger Games, and controls all resources and media.

A mandatory post-Games journey in which the winning tributes travel to every district and the Capitol to be celebrated, serving as a reminder of the Capitol's power.

A special edition of the Hunger Games held every twenty-five years, marked by an extra twist or rule imposed by the Capitol to heighten the event's cruelty and spectacle.

A genetically engineered wasp-like insect created by the Capitol whose venom causes powerful hallucinations, intense pain, and can be fatal in large doses.

Genetically engineered hybrid creatures designed by the Capitol, often combining animal and human traits, used as weapons or threats inside the Hunger Games arena.

A powerful painkilling drug used in Panem; people who become addicted to it are called morphlings and are often visibly wasted and disoriented.

The panel of Capitol officials responsible for designing the Hunger Games arena, its obstacles, and the overall spectacle, and for scoring tributes during training.

A person who has been punished by the Capitol by having their tongue cut out, rendering them mute; avoxes serve as slaves to Capitol citizens and tributes.

A Capitol aircraft that flies without visible rotors, used to transport tributes, retrieve bodies from the arena, and carry out military or surveillance operations.

An invisible energy barrier used in the Hunger Games arena to contain tributes within a set boundary or to block off certain sections of the arena.

A long spear with three prongs at the tip, used as a weapon; in the text it is a signature weapon associated with a particular tribute from a fishing district.

In the Hunger Games context, a small silver delivery device that floats gifts of food, medicine, or supplies from sponsors down to a tribute inside the arena.

A wealthy Capitol citizen who pays to send life-saving gifts — food, medicine, weapons — to a favored tribute during the Games via parachute delivery.

A past Hunger Games victor assigned to coach and advise their district's tributes, helping them gain sponsors and strategize for survival.

A wild berry that is instantly and fatally poisonous if eaten; the name and the berries play a critical role in the plot of both the first Games and the second.

A large gold horn-shaped structure at the center of the Hunger Games arena's starting point, surrounded by weapons, food, and supplies that tributes race to claim at the start of the Games.

A rebellion or revolt by the people of a district against the Capitol's authority, often violently suppressed; signs of uprisings spreading across districts drive much of the plot.

Information or media spread by the Capitol to shape public opinion, glorify its power, and discourage resistance among the district populations.

A public punishment in which a person is beaten with a whip or rod, carried out by Peacekeepers as a warning to the rest of the district population.

A bird that is an accidental hybrid of a Capitol-engineered jabberjay and a mockingbird; it becomes a powerful symbol of rebellion against the Capitol throughout the story.