The domain name glossary.

205 terms from the domain aftermarket, defined in plain English for owners, buyers and investors. Each definition links to its source.

A

.ai: The country-code top-level domain for Anguilla, managed by the Government of Anguilla. It has become a favorite extension for artificial intelligence companies and startups, even though it is formally a country code.
A record: An A record is a DNS record that points a domain or subdomain to an IPv4 address. The A stands for address. It tells browsers which server to contact.
Acronym domain: An acronym domain is a domain made of a short set of letters, such as three or four, that stands for a name or phrase. Examples include IBM.com or ABC.com. Letter count drives much of its value.
AEO / GEO: AEO and GEO mean answer engine optimization and generative engine optimization. They are efforts to make content get cited in AI answers from tools like AI Overviews and chatbots.
Aftermarket: The aftermarket is the secondary market for domain names. It covers sales of names that someone already registered, as opposed to buying a new name from a registrar.
Afternic: Afternic is a domain marketplace owned by GoDaddy where owners list names for sale. It also distributes listings to partner registrars so buyers there can find and buy them.
Afternic Boost: A merchandising program from Afternic that gives listed domains more visibility on GoDaddy. It uses higher placement in suggested search results, verified badges on exact-match searches and targeted email campaigns.
Afternic Fast Transfer: Afternic Fast Transfer lets a listed domain move to the buyer automatically right after payment clears. The seller does not need to approve the move.
AI Overviews: Google Search's AI-generated summaries that appear above or alongside normal results. Google says no special technical steps are needed to appear in them beyond normal SEO practice.
Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA): The ACPA is a United States law, part of the Lanham Act at 15 U.S.C. 1125(d). It lets trademark owners sue anyone who registers or uses a domain in bad faith to profit from their mark.
Applicant Guidebook: The rulebook for applying to run a new top-level domain through ICANN's New gTLD Program. The 2026 Round has its own updated guidebook that covers fees, evaluation steps and objections.
Asking price: The asking price is the amount a seller wants for a domain when it is listed or quoted. It is a starting point for negotiation, not a guaranteed sale price.
Atom: A domain marketplace and registrar, formerly called Squadhelp. It sells curated brandable names, often with logos, and also offers domain appraisal, brokerage and naming services to startups and businesses.
Auth code (TAC): A secret code from the current registrar that proves you may move a domain to another registrar. ICANN's updated policy calls it a Transfer Authorization Code (TAC). Other names are EPP code and transfer key.
Auto-renew grace period: The auto-renew grace period is a window after a domain expires when the owner can still renew it, often up to 45 days. The registry's own rules and the registrar's terms set the length.
Automated valuation (AVM): A software estimate of a domain's value based on factors such as length, keywords, extension, search data and similar sales. Tools like Estibot, GoDaddy and Atom offer them.

B

Backlink profile: A backlink profile is the set of links from other websites that point to a domain. Search engines and SEO tools use it to judge the reach and trust of a site.
Backorder: A backorder is a request to catch an expiring domain the moment it becomes available. A service watches the name and tries to register it for you as soon as it drops.
Bad faith: The legal standard under the UDRP for abusive domain behavior. A complainant must show a domain was both registered and used in bad faith, such as targeting a trademark to profit or to harm.
Brand name: A name that identifies a company or product and sets it apart from others. A strong brand name is easy to say, spell and remember, and it works as a trademark.
Brand protection: Brand protection is the set of steps a company takes to guard its name online. For domains, it includes registering key names, watching for lookalikes and acting against misuse.
Brandable domain: A short, invented or lightly altered name that sounds like a brand, even though it is not a plain dictionary phrase. It is easy to say and spell, with no fixed meaning.
Buy It Now (BIN): BIN stands for Buy It Now. It is a fixed price listed on a domain. A buyer who pays that price can buy the name immediately, with no negotiation.
Buy-side broker: A buy-side broker, also called an acquisition broker, is a domain broker who works for the buyer. The broker finds the owner, negotiates the price, and manages the deal, often without naming the buyer.

C

.co: Dot-co is a top-level domain originally assigned to Colombia as its country code. It is now sold worldwide as a short alternative to .com, often used by startups and small firms.
.com: Dot-com is the most widely used top-level domain in the world. Verisign runs the .com registry, and it held about 166.6 million registrations in mid-2026.
Carrying cost: Carrying cost is the total expense of holding a domain over time, mainly yearly renewal fees plus any listing, parking, or management costs. Owners count it against the expected sale price.
Category-defining domain: A category-defining domain is a name made of the plain term for an industry or product, such as Insurance.com or Hotels.com. Buyers see it as the main address for that whole market.
Change of registrant: A change to the registered owner's name, organization or email on a domain. Under ICANN's current policy, it needs approval from both old and new owners and usually triggers a 60-day lock on moving to another registrar.
Chip domain: Domain investor slang for a four-letter .com with no vowels and no V, a pattern that Chinese buyers prized during the 2015 boom. These names are also called Chinese premium domains.
CNAME record: A DNS record that makes one name an alias of another name. A visitor to the alias is sent to the target name's address. It is often used for subdomains such as www.
Commission: A commission is a fee paid to a broker or marketplace when a domain sells. It is usually a percentage of the sale price and is paid only if the deal closes.
Common law trademark: A common law trademark is a right that comes from actually using a name in commerce, without a government registration. The right is limited to the area where the name is used.
Comparable sales (comps): Comparable sales, or comps, are recorded sales of similar domains. Investors and brokers use them to estimate what a name should fetch, as a real estate agent uses nearby home sales.
Concierge escrow: Concierge escrow is a hands-on escrow service where staff guide the buyer and seller through payment and domain transfer. It is used for higher-value or complex deals.
Confusingly similar: Confusingly similar is the first test in a UDRP complaint. It asks whether the domain name is close enough to a trademark that the mark is recognizable in it.
Cost per click (CPC): The amount an advertiser pays each time someone clicks an ad. In domains, a high CPC for a keyword suggests that businesses value customers searching for that term.
Counteroffer: A counteroffer is a reply to an offer that changes the price or terms. In domain sales it is the seller's price after a buyer's offer, or the buyer's new offer after the seller's reply.
Country code top-level domain (ccTLD): A ccTLD is a top-level domain reserved for a country or territory, based on the ISO 3166-1 country codes. Examples are .de for Germany and .uk for the United Kingdom.
CVCV: CVCV is domain slang for a four-letter name that alternates consonant, vowel, consonant, vowel, such as Kuvo or Lumi. These names are pronounceable and read like brand names, so investors trade them.
Cybersquatting: Registering or using a domain name that matches or copies someone's trademark in bad faith, often hoping to sell it to the mark owner at a profit or to trade on its goodwill.

D

Dan.com: Dan.com was a domain marketplace known for simple checkout, lease-to-own, and payment plans. GoDaddy, its owner, retired the service and migrated its accounts and domain listings to the Afternic marketplace.
Defensive acquisition: Buying a domain that is already registered so that a competitor, squatter or confusing third party cannot use it. A brand owner may do this for a name close to its own.
Defensive registration: Registering extra domain names, such as other extensions, typos or related spellings, to protect a brand rather than to use them. They are often forwarded to the main site.
Distribution network: A distribution network, also called syndication, shows one domain listing across many sales sites at once. A seller lists the name in one place and partners display it to their buyers.
DNJournal: DNJournal is a news site covering the domain industry. It publishes weekly reported domain sales and year-to-date top-100 sales charts. Many investors use these as price references.
DNS abuse: ICANN defines DNS abuse as malware, botnets, phishing, pharming and spam when it delivers one of those other threats. Registries and registrars must act on it under their ICANN contracts.
DNS propagation: DNS propagation is the delay while DNS changes spread across the internet's resolvers. Resolvers keep old answers until the record's time to live (TTL) runs out, so some users see the change later than others.
DNS record: A DNS record is an instruction stored on a domain's authoritative name server. It tells the internet where to send web, email, or other traffic for that domain.
DNSSEC: DNSSEC is a set of security extensions that add digital signatures to DNS answers. It lets resolvers confirm a response came from the real DNS server and was not altered on the way.
Domain age: How long ago a domain was first registered. Google's John Mueller has said domain age by itself does not help search rankings, though a name's history can still matter.
Domain appraisal: A domain appraisal is an estimate of what a domain is worth. It may come from an automated tool, using sales data and name features, or from a human expert who weighs buyer demand.
Domain authority: Domain Authority is a score from 1 to 100 created by Moz. It predicts how likely a site is to rank in search results compared with competitors. It is not a Google metric.
Domain broker: A domain broker is a professional who buys or sells domain names for a client. The broker finds the other side, handles negotiation and manages the deal through to transfer, usually for a commission.
Domain brokerage: A service where a broker represents a buyer or seller to negotiate a domain sale. The broker finds counterparties, handles talks and usually earns a commission when the deal closes.
Domain forwarding: A registrar feature that sends visitors from one domain to another web address. The visitor types one domain and lands on a different site or page.
Domain history: The record of how a domain was used before, including past websites, owners, links and any penalties. Tools such as the Wayback Machine show old versions of a site.
Domain holding: Domain holding is the act of owning a domain name over time, either as an investment or for a future project. The owner pays renewal fees to keep it.
Domain lease: An arrangement where the owner lets another party use a domain for a recurring fee, without transferring ownership. The lessee points the domain to their site while the owner keeps the registration.
Domain marketplace: A website or platform where sellers list domains for sale and buyers search, make offers or buy at a fixed price. Examples include Afternic, Sedo, Atom and Dan.
Domain name: A domain name is a human-readable address, such as example.com, that points to a website, email server, or other internet service through the Domain Name System. It replaces numeric IP addresses that people cannot easily remember.
Domain Name Industry Brief (DNIB): The Domain Name Industry Brief is a quarterly report on global domain registrations by Verisign. It tracks growth, renewals, and extension trends across the industry.
Domain Name System (DNS): The Domain Name System is the Internet's phonebook. It translates human-readable domain names into the numeric IP addresses that computers use to find each other.
Domain purchase agreement: A written contract for a domain sale. It states the domain, price, payment method, transfer steps, timing and each side's promises, such as clear ownership of the name.
Domain theft: Domain theft, also called domain hijacking, is taking control of a domain without the owner's permission. Thieves often steal registrar account logins or trick the registrar into a transfer.
Domain upgrade: A domain upgrade is when a business replaces its current domain with a better one, usually a shorter, clearer .com. The old domain redirects to the new one.
Domainer: A domainer is a person or company that registers or buys domain names to resell them at a profit. Domainers also hold names for traffic or advertising income. The term is interchangeable with domain investor.
dotBrand TLD: A dotBrand TLD is a top-level domain that a company owns for its own brand, such as .google or .bmw. Only that company and its approved parties use it, so the public cannot register names under it.
Drop catching: Using fast automated systems to register a domain the moment it is deleted from the registry and becomes available again. Competing services try to win the same name.
Due diligence: Due diligence is the checking a buyer does before paying for a domain. It confirms who owns the name, whether it carries legal or technical problems and whether the price is fair.

E

Email deliverability: Email deliverability is how reliably your messages reach the inbox instead of spam or being blocked. A domain's history and its email authentication settings strongly affect it.
End user: In the domain aftermarket, an end user is a buyer who will use the domain for a real business or project. This differs from an investor or domainer who buys to resell.
End-user value: End-user value is what a domain is worth to a business that will use it, not to an investor who will resell it. It is also called retail value and is usually higher than wholesale.
EPP status codes (EPP): EPP status codes are labels set on a domain by its registrar or registry. They show whether the domain can be transferred, changed, renewed, or deleted, and they are visible in lookups.
Escrow: A neutral third party holds the buyer's payment until the domain is transferred and accepted. It protects the seller from non-payment and the buyer from losing money without receiving the name.
Escrow.com: A widely used escrow service for domain sales. It holds the buyer's payment until the domain is transferred and the buyer accepts it, then pays the seller.
Escrow.com Master of Domains: Escrow.com Master of Domains is an annual award for the ten highest-grossing domain brokers, ranked by the value of deals they closed through Escrow.com in the prior year.
EstiBot: EstiBot is an automated domain appraisal tool that gives an estimated value for a domain name. Investors and buyers use it as a quick first check, not as a final price.
Exact-match domain (EMD): An exact-match domain is a domain that matches a search phrase or a product word exactly, such as a keyword plus the extension. Examples are cheapflights.com or insurance.com.
Exclusivity agreement: A contract that makes one broker the only party allowed to sell or negotiate a domain for a set time. It usually states the term, the commission and what happens if the seller finds a buyer alone.
Expiration date: The expiration date is the day a domain registration ends unless the owner renews it. Registrations run from one to ten years, and the registrar can show the date in account tools and public lookups.
Expired domain auction: An expired domain auction is a sale where a registrar or marketplace offers a lapsed domain to bidders. The previous owner did not renew, and the highest bid wins the name.
Expired Registration Recovery Policy (ERRP): The Expired Registration Recovery Policy is an ICANN rule that protects owners of expiring gTLD domains. It sets renewal reminders, fee disclosure and a 30-day redemption period after deletion.
Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP): EPP is the standard protocol registrars use to talk to registries. It handles actions such as creating, renewing, updating and transferring domain names, and it carries status codes.

F

Form of Authorization (FOA): A form that a gaining registrar historically sent to the domain's contact to confirm a transfer was wanted. ICANN has deferred enforcement of the FOA step, and the auth code now carries most of the proof.
Forum: Forum is an ICANN-approved provider that decides UDRP domain disputes. It was formerly called the National Arbitration Forum. Complaints may also go to WIPO or other approved providers.

G

GDPR redaction: The hiding of personal details, such as a registrant's name, email and phone, from public domain registration records. Registries and registrars began doing this in 2018 to follow European privacy law.
Generic ccTLD (gccTLD): A country-code top-level domain that is marketed and used worldwide, not just by people in that country. Examples include .ai, .io, .co, .me and .tv.
Generic domain: A generic domain is a name made of a common word or phrase that describes a thing, rather than a brand. Examples are cars.com or shoes.com. It is often called a dictionary or keyword domain.
Generic top-level domain (gTLD): A gTLD is a top-level domain that is not tied to a country, such as .com, .org, .net, or hundreds of newer extensions like .app and .shop. ICANN sets the rules for the registry operators.
Geo domain: A geo domain is a name built around a place, such as a city, state, or region, often joined with a service word like Austin Plumbers. Local businesses and directories buy them.
Geo TLD: A geo TLD is a top-level domain named for a city, region or other place. Examples include .london, .berlin, .tokyo, .vegas and .africa. It signals a local audience.
GNSO: The Generic Names Supporting Organization, the ICANN body that develops policy for generic top-level domains. Its Council manages policy work on topics such as transfers, privacy and the UDRP.
GoDaddy Auctions: GoDaddy Auctions is a marketplace where domains are sold by auction, Buy Now or offer. It also lists expired domains. Most eligible expired names appear 26 days after their expiry date.

H

Hand registration: Hand registration, or hand reg, is when someone registers an available domain at standard registrar prices rather than buying it from another owner. The name was never taken.
Hyphenated domain: A hyphenated domain is a name that uses a hyphen between words or parts, such as best-shoes.com. Hyphens are legal in domain names, except at the start or end.

I

.io: .io is the country-code top-level domain for the British Indian Ocean Territory. Tech startups adopted it widely because the letters echo input/output, and many treat it as a generic extension.
IANA: The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, which keeps the public registries of internet identifiers. This includes the root zone database that lists every top-level domain and the organization that manages it.
ICANN: ICANN is the nonprofit that coordinates the Internet's unique identifiers, including domain names. It signs contracts with registries, accredits registrars and sets consensus policies, such as the transfer and registration data rules.
ICANN Lookup: ICANN's free public tool for looking up domain registration data. It shows details such as the registrar, key dates and status codes, with personal contact data usually redacted.
ICANN meeting: An ICANN meeting is a public gathering where the internet naming community discusses domain policy. Registries, registrars, governments, and users attend in person and online.
Identity Digital: A company that runs a large portfolio of top-level domains, such as .live and .life, and offers registry services. It was formed from the combination of Donuts and Afilias.
IDN ccTLD: An IDN ccTLD is a country-code top-level domain written in a non-Latin script, such as Cyrillic, Arabic, or Chinese characters. It represents a country or territory in its own language.
Inbound inquiry: An inbound inquiry is an offer or question that a buyer sends to the owner of a domain, usually through a for-sale page or marketplace listing. The buyer starts the contact.
Intangible asset: An intangible asset is property with value that you cannot touch, such as a patent, goodwill or a domain name. Amortization spreads its cost over several years for tax purposes.
Inter-registrar transfer: An inter-registrar transfer moves a domain from one ICANN-accredited registrar to another. The new registrar asks for an authorization code, and the registry completes the move once both sides approve.
Internationalized domain name (IDN): A domain name that uses characters outside basic English letters, such as Chinese, Arabic, Cyrillic or accented Latin letters. Systems store it in an ASCII form that begins with "xn--".
Internet Commerce Association (ICA): The Internet Commerce Association is a nonprofit, founded in 2006, that represents domain investors and related service providers. It advocates for domain owners with policymakers and in ICANN processes.

K

Keyword domain: A domain name that contains words describing a product, service, place or topic. It signals to people what the site is about, such as a name with "plumbing" or "loans" in it.

L

Lander: A lander is a sales landing page shown when someone visits a domain that is for sale. It tells the visitor the name is available and gives a way to make an offer or buy.
Lease-to-own (LTO): Lease-to-own lets a buyer pay for a domain in monthly installments. The buyer gets full ownership only after the last payment. Until then the domain is in use but not yet transferred.
Legacy TLD: A legacy TLD is one of the older generic extensions that existed before ICANN's new gTLD program, mainly .com, .net, .org, .info, and .biz. Industry speakers use the term to separate them from newer extensions.
Liquidity: Liquidity is how quickly a domain can be sold at a fair price. Highly liquid names have many buyers. Illiquid names may take years to sell, or sell only at a deep discount.
LLL: LLL is domain slang for a three-letter domain, usually in .com, such as ABC.com. Every possible LLL .com is already registered, so they trade only on the aftermarket.
LLLL: Domain investor shorthand for a four-letter .com name made only of letters, such as abcd.com. There are 456,976 possible combinations, which makes the category a tradeable class.

M

Make offer: A listing type with no fixed price, where a buyer submits an offer and the seller can accept, decline or counter. Marketplaces use it for names the seller prices by negotiation.
Minimum acceptable offer (MAO): The lowest price a seller will take for a domain. In the aftermarket, a seller or broker sets the MAO privately, and it may sit below the public asking price.
Minimum offer: A minimum offer is the lowest price a seller will accept for a domain. Listings on marketplaces use it to filter out offers that are too low before the owner replies.
MX record (MX): An MX record is a DNS entry that names the mail servers that accept email for a domain. Each MX record has a priority number that tells senders which server to try first.

N

.net: One of the original generic top-level domains, run by Verisign. It was meant for network companies and now serves any use. It is usually the second choice after .com.
NameBio: NameBio is a searchable database of historical domain name sales. Buyers, sellers, and brokers use it to find comparable sales of similar names when they set or check a price.
NamesCon: An annual conference for the domain name industry, where investors, brokers, registrars and registries meet. NamesCon Global 2026 is scheduled for November 11 to 12 in Miami, Florida.
Nameserver: A server that stores a domain's DNS records and answers questions about where the domain's website, email and other services live. A domain lists its nameservers at the registry.
NDA sale: An NDA sale, or unreported sale, is a domain sale whose price and buyer are kept private by agreement. The sale does not appear in public sales databases.
New gTLD: A top-level domain created through ICANN's New gTLD Program, such as .app, .shop or .xyz. They began launching in 2013 and are separate from older extensions like .com and .org.
New gTLD Program: The New gTLD Program is ICANN's process for creating new top-level domains. The 2026 round took applications from April 30 to August 12, 2026. ICANN revealed 1,615 applications on October 7, 2026.
NNN: NNN is shorthand for a domain made of three numerals, such as 888.com. There are 1,000 possible combinations in each extension, from 000 to 999.
Non-disclosure agreement (NDA): A non-disclosure agreement is a contract that stops parties from sharing confidential information. In domain deals, it keeps the buyer's identity, the price, or the project plan private.

O

.org: .org is a legacy generic top-level domain, long linked with nonprofits and community groups. Public Interest Registry runs it as the registry operator, and registration is open to anyone.
One-word .com: A .com domain made of a single dictionary word, such as a common noun, verb or adjective. These names are scarce, and nearly all are already registered.
Outbound domain sales: A sales method where the seller or broker contacts possible buyers directly instead of waiting for inquiries. It targets companies that fit the name, such as businesses that use the keyword.

P

Parked page: A basic web page shown on a domain that is not in use. It may show ads, a placeholder or a for-sale notice with a contact form.
Parking: Parking is placing a domain on a simple page that shows ads or a for-sale notice instead of a full website. The owner may earn money when visitors click ads.
Passive holding doctrine: A UDRP idea that holding a domain without using it can still count as bad faith when other facts point to abuse, such as a famous mark and no plausible good-faith use.
Payment plan: A payment plan is an agreement where the buyer pays for a domain in installments instead of one lump sum. The seller usually keeps control of the name until the last payment clears.
Pending delete: Pending delete is the last status before a domain is purged from the registry. It follows the redemption period and lasts about five days, after which the name becomes available to register again.
Portfolio sale: A portfolio sale is the sale of many domain names in one deal, often by an investor who is exiting or by a company that is cutting its holdings. The price covers the whole set.
Premium domain: A premium domain is a name offered for sale at a price above the standard registration fee. It is either a name an owner resells on the aftermarket or a name a registry prices as premium.
Premium renewal: A renewal fee for a registry-priced premium domain that stays at the elevated premium level every year, instead of falling to the extension's normal renewal price after the first term.
Price cap: The .com price cap is a limit in Verisign's contract with ICANN on how much the registry can raise its wholesale fee. It currently allows 7% a year in four of every six years.
Privacy / proxy service: A privacy or proxy service hides a domain owner's personal contact details in public lookups. A privacy service shows masked data, while a proxy service lists the provider as the registrant and licenses the name to the customer.
Proof of ownership: Evidence that a seller controls a domain, usually shown by logging into the registrar, matching registration data, or placing a requested code in the domain's DNS records.
Push: A push is a move of a domain between two accounts at the same registrar. The domain stays put at that registrar. Only the account that controls it changes.

R

Radio test: The radio test asks whether someone who hears a domain name once, with no spelling, could type it correctly. A name that passes is easy to say and spell.
Rebrand: A rebrand is a change to a company's name, look, or identity. When the name changes, the company often needs a new domain, which can drive a domain purchase.
Redemption grace period (RGP): A short period after a domain expires and its grace days end, when the owner can still restore the name by paying a redemption fee. If it is not restored, the name moves toward deletion.
Registrant: A registrant is the person or organization listed as the holder of a domain name registration. The registrant holds the right to use the name and is responsible for renewals and accurate contact details.
Registrar: A registrar is a company that sells domain registrations to the public. It checks that a name is available, sends the registration to the registry, collects owner details and lets the owner manage settings afterward.
Registrar lock: A registrar lock is the EPP status clientTransferProhibited. It tells the registry to reject any request to move the domain to another registrar. The owner or registrar sets it to prevent unauthorized transfers.
Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP): RDAP is the internet standard for looking up domain registration data, such as registrar, status, and key dates. It was created to replace the older WHOIS protocol with structured, secure, and more controlled access.
Registration Data Policy: The Registration Data Policy is an ICANN rule for how registrars and registries collect, transfer, publish and redact domain registration data. It took effect on August 21, 2025.
Registry: A registry is the authoritative master database of every domain name registered in one top-level domain. The company that runs it is the registry operator. The Domain Name System consults it to find the name servers for each name.
Registry lock: A premium security service that places a lock at the registry, not just the registrar. Any change to the domain, such as a transfer or nameserver edit, needs a manual check outside the normal account login.
Registry operator: The organization that runs the master database for one top-level domain and has a contract with ICANN or a country authority. It sets wholesale prices and rules for that extension, and it works through registrars.
Registry premium: A registry premium is a domain that the registry operator prices above standard registration fees. The registry sets the higher price, and the registrar passes it on to the buyer.
Registry Services Provider (RSP): A registry services provider is a company that runs the technical systems for a top-level domain on behalf of its registry operator. It handles the database, DNS, and registration systems that registrars connect to.
Renewal fee: A renewal fee is the yearly cost to keep a domain registered. It is set by the registrar and includes the registry's wholesale fee. It can differ from the first-year price.
Reported sale: A domain sale whose price has been made public, often through industry sales lists such as DNJournal. Many private sales never become public, so reported sales are only part of the market.
Reseller: A company that sells domain registrations through an ICANN-accredited registrar's system, often under its own brand. The reseller handles the customer, and the registrar holds the contract with the registry.
Reserve price: A reserve price is the lowest price a seller will accept in an auction. If bidding ends below it, the seller does not have to sell the domain.
Retail sale: A domain sale to an end user, such as a business that will use the name, at a price based on its value to that buyer. It is the opposite of a wholesale sale between investors.
Reveal Day: Reveal Day is the day ICANN publishes the list of new gTLD applications in a round, showing who applied and for which strings. For the 2026 round it was 7 October 2026.
Reverse domain name hijacking (RDNH): Reverse domain name hijacking is when a trademark owner uses the UDRP in bad faith to try to take a domain from a rightful holder. A panel can formally declare it.
Rights or legitimate interests: Rights or legitimate interests is the second element of a UDRP complaint. It asks whether the domain owner has a real, good-faith reason to hold the name, such as a business, a nickname, or fair use.
Root zone: The root zone is the top level of the Domain Name System. It lists every top-level domain, such as .com and .org, and points to the servers that run each one.

S

Search volume: Search volume is the number of times people search for a term in a search engine over a set period, usually a month. Domain buyers use it to judge demand for a keyword name.
Second-level domain (SLD): The part of a domain name directly to the left of the top-level domain. In example.com, "example" is the second-level domain. It is the label a registrant actually chooses and registers.
Sedo: Sedo is a long-running domain marketplace. It lets owners list names for sale, run auctions, park domains and hire brokers. It charges commission on completed sales.
Sell-side broker: A sell-side broker represents the domain owner. The broker markets the name, finds buyers, negotiates for the best price and manages the sale. The seller pays the fee only when the deal closes.
Sell-through rate (STR): The share of a domain portfolio that sells in a year. For example, a 1% rate on 1,000 domains means about 10 sales a year.
Seller financing: Seller financing is when the domain owner lets the buyer pay over time, taking on the credit risk. It is a type of payment plan where the seller acts as the lender.
Single-letter domain: A domain whose name is one character, such as a single letter or digit, followed by an extension. Single-letter .com names are all registered, so any purchase means buying from a current owner.
Site migration: A site migration is moving a website to a new domain or structure. A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that sends visitors and search engines from the old address to the new one.
Spelling test: The spelling test checks whether people can spell a domain after hearing it once. A name that passes is easy to type and share by word of mouth.
SPF, DKIM and DMARC: SPF, DKIM and DMARC are three email authentication methods tied to DNS. SPF lists allowed senders. DKIM signs messages. DMARC tells receivers what to do when the checks fail.
Sponsored top-level domain (sTLD): A sponsored TLD is a top-level domain run for a specific community. A sponsoring group sets who may register. Examples include .edu, .gov, .museum, .travel and .jobs.
Stealth acquisition: A purchase where the buyer's identity is kept from the seller, usually through a broker or an intermediary company. It is used so the seller does not raise the price after learning who wants the name.
String contention: String contention happens when two or more applicants want the same new TLD, or strings that are too similar. The group of competing applications is a contention set.
Subdomain: A subdomain is a prefix added to a domain name that creates a separate address under it, such as blog.example.com or shop.example.com. The domain owner creates it with a DNS record at no extra registration cost.
Success fee: A success fee is a payment owed to a broker only if a sale closes. It is usually a percentage of the final price, so the broker earns nothing if no deal happens.
Sunrise period: A sunrise period is an early registration window for a new TLD. Trademark holders listed in the Trademark Clearinghouse can register matching names before the public can. It lasts at least 30 days.

T

Time to live (TTL): The number of seconds a DNS answer may be cached before a resolver must ask again. A low TTL means changes spread faster, and a high TTL means fewer lookups.
Top-level domain (TLD): The top-level domain is the last label in a domain name, the part after the final dot. In icann.org, the TLD is org. It sits at the top of the naming hierarchy of the Domain Name System.
Trademark: A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or design that identifies the source of goods or services. It can be registered or based on use, and it can limit how others use similar domain names.
Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH): The Trademark Clearinghouse is a central ICANN-mandated database of verified trademarks. Brand owners record marks there to get early access to new domains and notices when others register matching names.
Transfer Dispute Resolution Policy (TDRP): An ICANN policy for resolving disputes between registrars over a contested inter-registrar transfer, such as an unauthorized move. Registrars file these cases, not individual domain owners.
Two-letter domain (LL): A two-letter domain is a name with only two letters before the extension, such as AB.com. The aftermarket calls them LL domains. In .com there are 676 possible combinations.
Two-word domain: A two-word domain is a name made of two dictionary words joined together, such as BlueHarbor.com. Brands choose them because many one-word names are taken.
TXT record: A TXT record is a DNS record that stores text. Today it often holds machine-readable data, such as domain ownership proof and email sender rules like SPF.
Type-in traffic: Type-in traffic is visits that arrive when a person types a domain name straight into a browser. It does not come from search results, ads or links.
Typo traffic: Typo traffic is visitors who reach a domain by mistyping another one. Owners of misspelled variants of popular names receive it, which can create legal risk.
Typosquatting: Typosquatting is registering a domain that is a common misspelling of a well-known name, hoping to catch visitors who mistype it. It is a form of cybersquatting when done in bad faith.

U

UDRP: The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy, ICANN's rules for resolving trademark-based complaints about domains. A complainant must show three elements, and the usual remedy is transfer or cancellation.
Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS): URS is a fast, low-cost dispute process for clear cases of trademark abuse in domain names. It applies to new gTLDs and other extensions that adopt it, and it results in suspension of the domain.
Universal Acceptance: Universal Acceptance is the principle that all valid domain names and email addresses should work in every app and device. This includes new TLDs, internationalized names and non-Latin addresses.
USPTO: The United States Patent and Trademark Office, the federal agency that examines and registers US trademarks. Its public trademark search tool is a first check for brand conflicts.

V

Verisign: Verisign is the company that runs the .com and .net registries. It also maintains the DNS root zone under an agreement with ICANN. It reported 166.6 million .com registrations in mid-2026.

W

Wayback Machine: The Wayback Machine is a free archive of past web pages run by the Internet Archive. It lets you see what a website looked like at earlier dates.
WHOIS: The older public lookup system for domain registration data, such as the registrar, dates and contacts. Many fields are now hidden for privacy, and ICANN now points users to RDAP-based lookup tools.
Wholesale sale: A wholesale sale is a domain sale to another investor or reseller instead of to the business that will use the name. Prices are lower because the buyer plans to resell at a profit.
Wholesale value: The price an investor or reseller would pay for a domain to resell it later. It is usually well below the price an end user would pay for the same name.
WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center: The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center is the unit of the World Intellectual Property Organization that handles domain name disputes under the UDRP. It is a leading UDRP provider worldwide.
WIPO Overview 3.1: WIPO's summary of consensus views from past UDRP panel decisions. Version 3.1 is the current edition, and it updates Overview 3.0. Panels and parties use it as a guide, though it does not bind them.

#

30-day (720-hour) transfer lock: The 30-day transfer lock is a shorter transfer hold that ICANN's Board approved on June 7, 2026. It would replace the current 60-day lock. ICANN has not published an effective date.
60-day transfer lock: The 60-day transfer lock is a rule that blocks transfers to a new registrar for 60 days after a domain is first registered, transferred in, or after a change of registrant, unless the owner opts out.

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