NPC stands for non-playable character: a character in a video game that no player controls. It's an ordinary gaming term, used in chats, on forums and in game reviews.
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an npc; talk to an npc; npc + quest/dialogue; like an npc (about a person)
- You need to talk to an npc in the tavern to unlock the next quest.
- The npc at the city gate keeps repeating the same line, is my game broken?
- I asked him three different questions and he said 'fine' every time, like an npc.
What changed
First versionI'm stuck because a npc in the village won't give me the key to the tower.
RevisionI'm stuck because an npc in the village won't give me the key to the tower.
NPC is read letter by letter: en-pee-see. It starts with a vowel sound, so it takes an, as in an MP. The article depends on the sound, not the letter, and the written consonant N easily throws people off.
In slang, people sometimes call a person an npc too: He just repeats what everyone says, like an npc. It means someone who acts by a script, like a background character in a game, with no opinion of their own. It's dismissive, so don't say it about colleagues or people you know; in IELTS Speaking, a neutral option is he just follows the crowd, and when writing about games in an essay, spell it out: non-playable characters.
Your turn
The shopkeeper isn't another player, just ___ that repeats the same three lines.
Show the answer
an npc — The shopkeeper isn't another player but a character who repeats the same lines, so it's an NPC. Noob is gaming slang too, but it means a real player who is a beginner, and the sentence makes it clear that nobody controls the shopkeeper.
Text a friend about a game you're playing at the moment. Use npc and say how this character helps you or gets in your way.
The npc in the blacksmith's shop sells the best swords in the game, so I'm saving all my gold for him.
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