Vocabulary in The Maze Runner

Slang used in the Glade as a crude word for feces or excrement; a made-up profanity that the Gladers use as part of their own internal slang system.

A Glader slang term used as a general-purpose mild expletive or insult, roughly equivalent to 'damn' or 'worthless'; part of the invented profanity system the boys use.

A Glader insult meaning a stupid or foolish person, used the way someone might say 'idiot' or 'blockhead' in everyday speech.

The nickname given to the newest arrival in the Glade; a newcomer who has not yet learned the community's rules, routines, or layout.

The leaders of each work group in the Glade; each Keeper is responsible for managing and directing the boys assigned to their particular job.

The governing body of the Glade, made up of the Keepers of each work group, which makes decisions and enforces the community's rules.

A traumatic physical and psychological transformation that occurs when a Glader is stung by a Griever; it causes extreme pain, visions, and partial return of lost memories.

A monstrous, bio-mechanical creature that roams the Maze at night, capable of stinging Gladers and killing them; one of the primary dangers of the Maze.

The Gladers assigned the dangerous job of entering the Maze each day to map its corridors and search for a way out before the walls close at night.

The open, enclosed area at the center of the Maze where the boys live; it contains living quarters, gardens, and work areas and is surrounded by massive stone walls.

The underground elevator-like chamber that delivers new arrivals and monthly supplies up into the Glade from an unknown location below.

The opening in the Maze through which Grievers enter and exit; it is later discovered to be the passage the Gladers must use to escape the Maze.

A liquid medicine injected into a Glader after a Griever sting to counteract the venom and trigger the Changing; without it, the stung person will die.

The acronym for the shadowy organization that built and controls the Maze; it stands for World In Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department, and it designed the entire trial.

A deadly, brain-destroying disease that has devastated the outside world; WICKED's experiments in the Maze are connected to finding a cure for it.

Small robotic lizard-like surveillance creatures used by WICKED to monitor and spy on the Gladers inside the Maze.

The punishment of being expelled from the Glade and sent into the Maze at night, which is effectively a death sentence since the Grievers come out after dark.

A formal meeting of the Council of Keepers called to judge a Glader accused of breaking the rules and to decide on punishment.

A wooded, cemetery-like area on the edge of the Glade where the boys bury their dead; it is considered a gloomy and avoided part of the community's grounds.

A section of the Maze where the ground drops away into a seemingly bottomless abyss; it is a landmark the Runners use in mapping the Maze's layout.

The term the Gladers use for the unknown people who built the Maze and put them there; later revealed to be connected to WICKED.

A Glader slang term for a person, used roughly the way someone might say 'guy' or 'dude'; not necessarily insulting, just informal in-group language.