| 300 game | A perfect game consisting of 12 strikes in a row. |
| 300 game jinx | It is customary when someone starts a game with a string of strikes not to mention the possibility of scoring 300, which would "jinx" the player. |
| ABC | American Bowling Congress; official rule making body for ten pin bowling for its members in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico and US military bases worldwide; founded in 1895 and headquartered in Greendale, Wisconsin, 5301 S. 76th Street 53129
|
| Absentee | See Blind |
| Action | Motion of the pins caused by the bowler's technique; generally, the combination of accuracy, rotation, and other factors, causing pin motion which is horizontal, rather than vertical, since a horizontally spinning pin covers more of the lane. |
| Address | Bowler's starting position. (stance) |
| All the way | Finishing a game from any point with nothing but strikes. |
| Alley | 1) A group of lanes; 2) bowling establishment; 3) playing surface,usually made of maple and pine boards; urethane lanes may soon outnumber wood lanes. |
| American Bowling Congress (ABC) | The world's largest sports organization and the official rule-making body of tenpin bowling. |
| Anchor | Last man to roll in team competition. Usually the best bowler; i.e., the bowler most likely to get a strike in the "foundation frame" (the ninth frame) and most likely to "strike out." The term originated in 1913 when a bowler (Hans Arfsparger) for the Anchor Brewing team in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, bowled in the fifth position and struck out 94 times in succession. |