I attempted to use these terms with some rigour:
| Term | Definition |
| Ambiguous | situation of the board or part of the board in which it is not possible to decide where the bombs are. |
| Bombcount | number of bombs around a cell; the number in the cell. |
| Cell | a position on the board |
| Configuration | arrangement of bombs |
| Covered | cell that is not yet touched |
| Flag | indicator planted on a cell where the player assumes a bomb |
| Flagged | bearing a flag |
| Grid | the arrangement of the total set of cells; has a width and height. |
| Island | contiguous area of covered cells |
| Sea | contiguous area of uncovered cells with no bombs and at least one cell with zero bombs around it. |
| Shore | cells forming the frontier between a sea and an island |
| Uncovered | cell that was clicked and now shows its bombcount |
They are my own invention, perhaps not very good.